The Sounds of Christmas
by fallinrain
Summary: Finally complete. A series of Ryelsi oneshots, all Christmas/holiday/winter related and all inspired by various Christmas songs. Some may feature other canon couples. Merry Christmas Ryelsi fans!
1. Baby, It's Cold Outside

**Disclaimer for the entire story: I own nothing. Not any of the HSM characters and not any of the songs. **

**A/N: So in honor of the holiday season, I have decided to write a few Christmas related oneshots from now until New Years Day - aiming for one a day, but we'll see what happens. Going to try to get the next chapter of Backbone up within a couple of days and LP & LN are both on a temporary hold until the new year (unless one of them ends up seriously inspiring me before then, ha). But I didn't want to let the Christmas season go by without writing some Ryelsi holiday goodness. Each oneshot will be inspired by a Christmas song and in this case, the song is _Baby, It's Cold Outside_, as the chapter title says. A few different people have done this song, though I was listening to Lady Antebellum's version as I was writing. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! Wishing all of my fellow Ryelsi fans a wonderful and blessed holiday season. :)  
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**"It's really coming down out there," Ryan Evans observed, pulling back the curtains in his apartment to peer outside. It had been snowing all day in New York City, starting off with flurries in the morning and then gradually getting more intense as the day went on.

"It's still snowing?" Kelsi Nielson frowned. She was curled up on her fiancé's couch with a blanket wrapped around her legs. Ryan had picked her up earlier that evening for a romantic dinner back at his place and it was fast approaching the time she usually went back to her apartment.

"Yep," Ryan nodded.

"I better get going then," Kelsi decided, looking up as he made his way back to the couch. "Before I get stuck here."

"That wouldn't be so bad would it?" he asked, smirking at her. "Get snowed in this nice, warm apartment with your future husband." He nudged her shoulder with his as he sat down beside her. "Could be worse."

"Yeah, okay, fine," she chuckled. "It could be worse, but even so...I should go."

"Why?" he challenged.

"Because it's getting late," she pointed out. "And this is when I usually go home."

"Have you looked outside lately? It's getting really bad...and it's probably really, really cold," he countered. "Wouldn't you rather stay here with me?" He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "Cuddled under this blanket where it's nice and warm?"

"Very tempting," she conceded. "But I really can't stay." She brushed her lips against his. "I have a lot to do tomorrow, remember? My parents wanted a tour of the city and I promised them we'd get an early start. I need to get some sleep." It was the week of their wedding and their families and friends had begun to arrive in the city. Kelsi's parents had shown up the day before and were staying with Kelsi in her apartment.

"You could always sleep here," he pointed out, flashing her a cheeky smile. "My bed is really, really comfortable, ya know."

"Oh, I'm sure it is," she said dryly.

"Perfect for sleeping," he added. "And...other things."

"Why, Ryan Evans," she began, her voice stern even as her lip twitched. "Why do I get the impression that your intentions are less than honorable here?"

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" he asked innocently.

"Since when do you call me darling?" she wanted to know. "I was referring to your comment about your bed being good for...and I quote...'other things'." She gave him a pointed look. "What 'other things' were you talking about?"

"Kelsi Nielson," he began, a mock expression of shock appearing on his face. "I was talking about cuddling."

"Cuddling," she repeated. "You want me to stay so we can cuddle?" She lifted her eyebrow at him. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

"Why?" he wanted to know.

"Because men never want to cuddle," she smirked. "Nice try, though." She leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "I really do have to go."

"But, baby, it's cold outside," he argued.

"Which is why I'll put on my coat," she countered.

"I don't think your coat is going to be warm enough," he shook his head. "It's really, _really_ cold. Not to mention the fact that it's going to be really hard to track a cab down in this weather."

"There's gotta be some out," she shrugged.

"I seriously doubt it...and besides, even if there are, you'd probably have to wait out there for a really long time," he responded. "You'll probably freeze to death before one shows up."

"So I'll call one," she said lightly. "Problem solved."

"The roads are probably getting really dangerous," he began. "I'm not so sure it's safe."

"Ryan..."

"Better to stay here," he decided. "Where it _is_ safe."

"I'm sure my parents would love that," she quipped. "My mom's probably getting worried about me as it is."

"She'd be more worried if you were riding in a cab with the streets the way they are," he shot back. "You could get into an accident."

"Oh come on, it's New York City. They're used to snow here. I'm sure the cab drivers know what they're doing," she argued.

"Even the best driver is no match for ice," he said seriously.

"Ice? What ice?" she asked. "It's just snowing."

"There could be ice," he shrugged. "How do you know there isn't?"

"I don't...but..." she began.

"Exactly. You'd better not risk it," he decided.

"Ryan...I have to go," she smiled.

"No, you don't," he shook his head. "Come on...stay here with me."

"Baby, I can't," she sighed. "I'm going home."

"What's your hurry?" he asked. "You don't really want to go and you know it."

"Ryan..."

"Come on...at least stay for a little while longer. We can make some more hot chocolate, maybe watch another movie," he began, brushing her hair away from her face with his hand.

"I have to go," she muttered.

"We could just stay out here and talk," he went on, pretending he hadn't heard her. "Maybe do a little of this too..." he added, brushing his lips against hers.

"I can picture my dad pacing my apartment as I speak," she said weakly. "He wouldn't like me staying here."

"He wouldn't like you to risk taking a cab either," Ryan countered, leaning in for another kiss. "Stay."

"It's been a wonderful evening," she began. "And I love you, but..."

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, kissing her again.

"What would the neighbors think?" she asked.

"Who cares?" he smirked. "Stay."

"I can't."

"Look out the window, Kelsi. It's getting really, really bad out there. Did I mention how cold it is?" he asked.

"A couple of times," she said softly, closing her eyes as he placed several kisses all over her face.

"You would freeze," he said between kisses.

"You could lend me your coat," she pointed out, though she kept her eyes closed.

"You have the most kissable lips..." he said quietly, kissing them to prove his point. "Did you know that?"

"You are not making this easy," she mumbled, sighing as he kissed his way along her jaw line.

"That, my dear, is the point," he whispered in her ear, smirking when she shivered. "Stay."

"Well...maybe one more kiss," she decided, grabbing his face to bring his lips back to hers.

"One more," he muttered as soon as they broke apart.

"One more," she agreed, somewhat breathlessly, as she let him kiss her again. She pulled herself closer as they kissed, attempting to get as close to him as possible. "Hmm..." she sighed when they pulled apart for some air. "It _is_ snowing pretty hard, isn't it?"

"Extremely hard," he grinned.

"And...and you're probably right about the cold," she said seriously. "I'm not sure I want to risk freezing to death before my wedding..."

"Totally not worth it," he agreed. "You should stay here with me. I'll keep you nice and warm, I promise."

"I really should be saying no..." Kelsi chewed on her lip for a moment. "But..."

"But?" he asked.

"It's too cold out there...I'm getting cold just thinking about how cold it probably is...I mean really," she declared. "You better keep holding me nice and tight so I don't get _too_ cold," she went on, smiling when his grip on her tightened. "And you know...my lips are getting a little cold too...maybe, maybe you should do something about that," she added, somewhat shyly.

"Maybe I should," he nodded, a mock serious expression on his face as he pressed his lips to hers again.

"At least I can say I tried," she murmured.

"You did," he nodded. "But it's just too cold outside."


	2. All I Want for Christmas is You

**A/N: Oops, I sort of missed yesterday, but I'm about to start working on another oneshot, so with any luck at all, that one will be posted sometime tonight. Depending on how well it goes. Just a sidenote about all these oneshots - they aren't in any kind of order and will probably jump around a lot in terms of the time frame. Like the last chapter, they were both in their 20s and in NYC and this chapter, they're back to being seniors in high school. The oneshots aren't neccessarily connected to each other, though I suppose they could be if you want to look at them that way. ****This was inspired by the song _All I Want for Christmas is You_ by Mariah Carey and features some of the lyrics. This ****went through a ton of changes before it became what it is. Not as good as I wanted it to be and I think the ending could've been better, but I still think it's a cute little oneshot. Hope y'all agree! **

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Kelsi sighed as she curled up on the end of the couch she was on, feeling depressed and now exactly knowing why. It was Christmas Eve and Sharpay Evans had surprised the group by inviting everyone over for a small holiday party. Of course, the fact that it was just the ten of them hadn't stopped Sharpay from going all out, getting the kitchen staff to whip up a ridiculous amount of food for them. The house had naturally been all ready decorated for the holidays and Kelsi couldn't help feeling like the Evans home put all the other homes in the state of New Mexico to shame. It was absolutely breathtaking…not that it looked bad the rest of the time, but the holidays gave it a little something extra.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that there's no sighing on Christmas Eve?" Kelsi looked up at the sound of Ryan's voice.

"I guess not," she replied, offering him a small smile as he sat down beside her. Scratch that, she thought, she _did_ know why she was feeling depressed. She'd had a crush on Ryan Evans since the first day of ninth grade, but had never had the courage to do anything about it. They were now seniors and had become very good friends…shoot, Ryan was her _best_ friend. Every day she woke up hoping that her crush on him would fade, knowing that she'd never have him as anything other than her friend and wanting to spare herself from the never-ending heartache that knowing caused.

Unfortunately for her, her feelings for him never faded. They changed, all right, but they moved in the opposite direction she hoped they would. Every day she fell a little harder for Ryan, her feelings for him getting stronger and stronger all the time. Somewhere along the way, she had gone from having a crush on him to being completely and utterly in love with him. All of their friends kept urging her to tell Ryan how she felt, positive that he felt the same way, but she knew otherwise. No way was Ryan in love with her. So she ignored the advice from her friends and kept her feelings to herself.

Kelsi let out another sigh as she glanced around the room, noting that all of her friends had split off into couples. That observation did nothing to help her current state of depression.

"There you go again," Ryan commented. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly. "It was just a sigh."

"Two sighs," he corrected. "And it was not just a sigh. If you weren't sitting here looking all sad, I might believe that it was indeed just a sigh, but seeing as you _do_ look all sad…" He trailed off, flashing her an impish smile. "This simply won't do," he decided. "No way can I let my best friend be all sad on Christmas Eve."

"I'm not sad," she argued.

"If you're not sad, then why do you look sad?" he wanted to know, surprising her by reaching over to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. His touch was soft, she realized, soft and warm. She barely suppressed a third sigh, a sigh that had nothing to do with her depression and everything to do with his touch.

"Because…tomorrow is Christmas and…" she winced. "Never mind…it's not important."

"Of course it is," he countered. "Tomorrow is Christmas and…"

"And…I'm pretty sure that I won't get what I want," she finished carefully. "I mean…I'll probably like what I do get, but…but there's one thing I want more than anything else. Something I'll probably never have," she went on. She doubted she was making any sense to him, but at the moment didn't care.

"How do you know?" he asked, sounding thoughtful. "It might be all ready wrapped and under your tree for all you know."

"This isn't the type of gift that can be wrapped," she informed him.

"Enlighten me, then," he urged. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"Oh no…" she shook her head. "It wouldn't just be for Christmas if I got it…if I had it my way, it'd be more of a, well, long-term kind of thing."

"What is it?" he asked. "Come on, Kels, you can tell me."

"No, I can't," she said sadly.

"Of course you can," he said gently. "I'm your best friend, aren't I?"

"Yes," she smiled. "Yes, you are."

"Okay, then," he nodded. "Tell me. What do you want for Christmas?"

"You." Her eyes widened in horror the second the word was out of her mouth. She hadn't been planning on telling him the truth; it had just sort of slipped out on its own.

"Excuse me?" She winced at his question, abruptly getting to her feet.

"Never mind," she said quickly. "I…I have to go." She started to rush out of the room, her eyes meeting Sharpay's on the way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sharpay surprised her by asking.

"Home," Kelsi answered. "I have to go home."

"Why?" Sharpay demanded, her eyes flickering to Ryan, who was on Kelsi's heels.

"Because I can't stay here anymore," Kelsi answered, making another dash for the door, only to be stopped by Ryan grabbing her hand.

"You are not going anywhere," he said calmly. "We have to talk."

"About?" she asked, spinning around to face him and yanking her hand out of his in the process. "About what? The fact that I totally just made an idiot out of myself?"

"You didn't make an idiot out of yourself," he began.

"You asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said you," she interrupted. "Not that I meant to say it, it just sort of came out. But…but it was a stupid thing to say and I shouldn't have said it. I may as well have told you that I…"

"That you what?" Ryan asked sharply. "Tell me. Please, whatever it is…just tell me."

"That I…that I'm in love with you," Kelsi whispered, amazed that she'd had the courage to get the words out. Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head. "No…don't. I know what you're going to say and it's…it's okay. I just…I can't be here anymore." She hurried out into the foyer, determined to get her coat on and get herself out the door as fast as possible.

"'_I don't want a lot for Christmas. There's just one thing I need.'_" Kelsi froze at the sound of Ryan's voice. "'_I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree'._" Ryan continued singing, cautiously walking closer to her as he went along until he was standing right behind her. "'_I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.'_" He put his hands on her shoulders to gently turn her around to face him. "_'Make my wish come true. All I want for Christmas is you.'_"

Kelsi gaped at him as he finished singing, too stunned to speak as he slowly smiled at her. "You know…I had it all figured out," he began, his voice surprisingly steady and he locked his gaze on hers. "I was going to find an excuse to slip away from here after midnight to sneak over to your house. And then I was going to find a few rocks to throw at your window and I was going to sing to you. That song, in fact. I was going to do the entire thing…not just that part…and then I was going to get you to come outside and I was going to cradle your face in my hands like this."

He brought his hands to her face. "And I was going to look deep into those beautiful blue eyes of yours…you really do have the most beautiful eyes, Kelsi," he added quietly. She gulped, scared to blink as she watched him, as if he'd somehow disappear if she did. "And then…and then I was going to tell you that I love you. That I've liked you from the first second I saw you and that sometime in the time we've known each other, I went from liking you to being completely and ridiculously in love with you. And then I was going to ask you to be my girl-" He broke off as Kelsi impulsively pressed her lips to his.

Much like telling him that he was what she wanted for Christmas, the kiss seemed to happen on its own will. Kelsi had a brief moment of panic, wondering if she'd just lost her mind. But then Ryan was sliding his hands into her hair and kissing her back, causing all rational thought to go flying out of her head as it suddenly felt as if her heart was jumping for joy inside her chest. "You're in love with me?" Kelsi whispered the question hesitantly, desperately hoping that her ears hadn't been playing tricks on her.

"I'm in love with you," he confirmed. She watched as his expression turned playful. "Was that kiss your way of telling me that you'll be my girlfriend?" he asked, smiling when she giggled.

"Oh Ryan," she sighed happily. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

"Good," he murmured, softly brushing his lips against hers.

"Hmm." She beamed at him, letting her arms wrap around his waist and hold onto him the way she'd wanted to for as long as she could remember. "Guess I _will_ be getting what I wanted for Christmas, after all."

"Me too," he smiled. "Because all I wanted for Christmas was you."


	3. Jingle Bell Rock

**A/N: Merry Christmas Eve everyone! This one isn't so much of a Ryelsi as it is a group oneshot. There's still a tiny bit of Ryelsi in here, but not too much. This was partially inspired by the 8th drabble in Christmas Cheer by angellwings (which I recommend reading if you aren't). The idea is tweaked slightly, but I loved the mental picture of the boys dressed as elves. Only in this case, I made Ryan an elf as well. That mental picture of them happened to hop into my head while I was listening to Rascal Flatts version of this song, _Jingle Bell Rock_, and it turned into this whole little scene. This was a hard oneshot to write for two reasons. One, it was really hard for me to try and figure out how to describe the image I had in my head of the little dance they do...I'm not sure I quite succeed, but hopefully it's explained in a way that allows you to picture it. And two, I kept getting a bad case of the giggles as I wrote this, remembering said mental image. I have a couple more serious ones planned and am hoping to get two up tomorrow, but for now, this one is basically complete silliness. Enjoy!**

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"Oh no," Chad shook his head furiously as he studied the costume that had just been handed to him. "Absolutely not! There is no way I'm wearing that. Are you guys listening to me? No way! None!"

"Oh, come on, Chad, it's for the kids," Taylor urged him. "The others guys are being good sports about it." It was the Christmas break of their first year of college and the Wildcats had all gathered at Lava Springs to help out with an event that Derby and Vance Evans had hosted ever since they moved to New Mexico. The event was twofold, including both a silent auction and a Christmas themed variety show with all proceeds going to a local children's hospital.

Usually the event seemed to go off without a hitch, but this year there had been one problem after another. First, at least half of the people scheduled to work had gotten sick and were unable to come in, which had been why all the Wildcats had been asked to help out in the first place. They had all agreed, deciding that it was a good way to make a little money while helping out a good cause. From there, it had seemed like everything was going to work out, but then one of the bands scheduled to play had to cancel on account of not being able to make it. So, Vance Evans had done some quick thinking and recruited his son and the other guys in their group to fill in. They had all agreed with little convincing, but then Derby had dropped a bombshell on them: they would have to perform in elf costumes.

"Of course they are," Chad rolled his eyes. "Ryan got stuck because his parents are involved. Zeke and Troy agreed to do it because Sharpay and Gabriella asked them to and they're both too whipped to say no. And Jason's a moron."

"Hey!" Jason protested as he entered the room, all ready changed into his elf costume. "I resemble that remark!" he added, folding his arms across his chest while he glared at Chad.

"Resent," Martha corrected quietly, though she was fighting off a smile.

"Huh?" Jason asked, confused as he looked back at her.

"You _resent_ that remark," Martha explained. "Resemble would imply that you agree with him."

"Oh." Jason shrugged, narrowing his eyes as Chad snickered. "What she said! I _resent_ that remark!"

"Way to prove my point," Chad said sarcastically.

"Humph," Jason huffed. "Don't you have a costume to put on?"

"No," Chad replied. "Because, as I have just informed Taylor, there is no way I'm going to dress up like an elf. No way."

"It's not so bad," Zeke piped up.

"Oh my God," Chad muttered, horrified, even as he fought against the laughter trying to escape. There was Zeke, clad in a costume identical to the one Jason wore, and looking...a little odd, to say the least. The outfit consisted of a large red and green tunic and green tights. It was accompanied by a pointy elf hat – complete with bells on it - and finished off with a pair of green elf shoes. "You look..." Chad laughed in spite of himself. "You look like an elf version of Bigfoot."

"Okay, so maybe it's not my best look," Zeke acknowledged with a grin. "But hey...it's for a good cause, right? And besides, it's just one song."

"Exactly," Taylor nodded, stifling a giggle as she watched Troy come back into the room in his costume. "One song. You can wear an elf costume for one song, Chad. It won't kill you."

"Not happening. Why do we need five elves anyway?" Chad challenged the group as a whole. "What's wrong with four?"

"Mrs. Evans wanted five," Martha reminded him. "That's why."

"Oh come on, Chad, be a good sport," Troy urged him. "If we can do it, you can."

"Yeah, come on, Chad," Gabriella echoed, flashing him her sweetest smile. "It's for the kids at the hospital."

"Oh, you're good," Chad smirked. "Almost good enough to convince me. Almost."

"Hmm...Well if you won't listen to your former teammates or your girlfriend," Taylor paused, giving him a pointed look. "Or Gabriella...you leave us no choice." A slightly evil smile appeared on her face as Ryan and Kelsi joined the group, holding hands. "We'll have to use our secret weapon." She gestured to Kelsi, nodding her head toward Chad.

"Secret weapon?" Chad chuckled. "I can't wait to see this."

"Chad?" He turned around at the sound of Kelsi's voice. "It's just one song. You can dress up like an elf for one song, right? Think of all the kids in the hospital," she pouted, giving him her best puppy dog face. "Everyone else is going along with it. Kind of like how we all came together for the musical last year, remember? How great it felt to work together? And that was just a show. This...well, this is a show too, but it's for the kids. And if you can't do it for them..." Kelsi sighed, her lip quivering ever so slightly. "Would you do it for me? For all of us?" She barely suppressed a smile as she watched Chad wince. "Please? Please with sugar on top?"

"Well...I..." he began, struggling to find the nerve to tell her no when she let out a pathetic whimpering sound.

"Please? With whipped cream and sugar and a cherry on top?" she pleaded.

"Ugh," Chad let out a long sigh. "Dang it...this isn't fair...this really means a lot to you doesn't it?"

"It's for the kids," she reminded him. "How can you not want to help poor, innocent sick children?"

"Oh...fine," he groaned. "I don't want you to be all sad. I'll do it."

"Finally!" Kelsi perked up, throwing her arms around his shoulders in an impulsive hug. "Thank you, Chad."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hey wait," he frowned. "I thought you were sad."

"That was calling acting," she informed him. "I hang out with them," she added, jerking her thumb towards her boyfriend and Sharpay, who had just joined them. "I guess they've rubbed off on me."

"You...I...you..." he sputtered, his mouth opening and closing as he gaped at her.

"Better go get changed, Chad," Kelsi said sweetly. "You have..." She lifted up his arm to peer at his watch. "Fifteen minutes until show time."

"Humph," he grumbled.

"Aw, cheer up, Chad," she said brightly. "You're an elf! Here..." She grabbed his elf hat from him and stuck it on his head. "You're looking more elf-life all ready!"

"Hot dog," he muttered.

"Have a great show!" she added, patting his cheek. Chad scowled as she turned her focus to Ryan. "You too," she said softly, reaching up to pull Ryan's hat just slightly to the side before giving him a quick kiss.

"Come on ladies," Sharpay spoke up; snickering at the hat perched on Chad's hair. "We better make sure we have good seats. Especially if we want to take pictures," she added, an evil smirk appearing on her perfectly polished lips.

"Oh, no way!" Chad protested as the girls all filed out of the room. "No pictures! I mean it, girls. Are you all listening?"

"Oh, quit your bellyaching," Troy laughed. "And go change into your costume, all ready."

"And don't forget to cheer up," Zeke added helpfully. "You're an elf, after all."

"Ugh." Chad rolled his eyes as he glanced at Ryan. "There's no saying no to that girlfriend of yours, is there?"

"Welcome to my world," Ryan smirked.

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"I can't get over how cute your parents look, Sharpay," Gabriella giggled. All of the girls were done with their respective jobs, which had consisted of helping out with the silent auction and helping people find seats for the show. The auction had ended about an hour ago and everyone was settled, so Mr. Fulton had agreed to let them have the rest of the night off so they could watch the guys perform. Now, they had scrounged up some good seats for the show and were watching as Vance and Derby Evans – playing the parts of Santa and Mrs. Claus – talked a bit about the children's hospital before introducing the guys.

"Your dad is a great Santa," Kelsi offered.

"He does a pretty good job," Sharpay nodded, grinning as her parents walked off the stage and the curtains opened again. "I can't wait to see what kind of choreography Ryan came up with."

"Especially at the last minute," Martha snickered. "Get your cameras ready, girls. I have a feeling that this is going to be an event to remember."

The stage was covered in decorations, including a large Christmas tree with a ton of brightly wrapped boxes underneath it. Ryan stood in the middle of the stage, alone for the moment – aside from the band. They watched as Ryan nodded to the band, signaling them to begin playing the opening of _Jingle Bell Rock_. The girls snickered as the other four guys half-danced, half-strutted their way onstage to their microphones, led by an oddly exuberant Zeke. Troy was next, then Jason, and finally, a very unhappy looking Chad.

"Oh my goodness," Kelsi giggled as the four former basketball players began stepping side to side to the beat, swinging their arms as they moved. Jason and Zeke seemed to get into the spirit right away, putting a lot of energy in their moves.

"What's up, Albuquerque?!" Ryan, ever the entertainer, asked the crowd. "Who's ready to rock? Come on, put your hands together!" Kelsi stifled another giggle as Ryan began to sing, naturally hamming it up for the audience. Everything seemed to go pretty well for the first several lines, the other four adding surprisingly strong harmony to Ryan's lead as needed. Even the choreography seemed pretty flawless...at least until Ryan got to the line about going riding in a one-horse sleigh. Confused looks were exchanged among the basketball players and Jason quickly improvised, pretending he was riding a horse for the next line, '_Giddy up, jingle horse, pick up your feet_' and Troy and Zeke mimicked him, causing Chad to look at all of them in disgust.

"Oh my..." Gabriella snickered as the band went into a brief instrumental break that featured Chad and Jason changing places, along with Troy and Zeke. It looked as if there was supposed to be some kind of additional choreography to go along with the changes, but instead the girls all giggled as each of the four proceeded to do something just a little different from the others. For instance, Jason had added a little booty shake while he moved and Troy had, for some reason, curled his hands into fists and proceeded to circle them around each other – looking as if he was punching a speed bag. Zeke had bent his arms at the elbows and swung them from side to side, while Chad opted to clap awkwardly.

"Somehow...I don't...think...that was...what Ryan...meant for them to do," Taylor managed, hardly able to speak.

"'_Oh_'," Ryan sang halfway through the break. "'_Dance the night away_,'_" _the other four chimed in, with Troy dipping his microphone stand on the word 'dance', and Zeke following on the word 'the', and Chad on the word 'night', ending with Jason dipping his microphone on the word 'away'. The instrumental break continued, each guy dancing around his respective microphone stand. Well...Ryan, Jason, Zeke and Troy all danced around their stands. Chad somehow got his foot caught on one of the decorations and had more or less hopped his way around his, desperately shaking his foot in the process, trying to shake it off.

"Son of a...." Chad growled into his microphone accidentally, causing Ryan to look back at him. Ryan was shaking his head as he looked back at the crowd, his eyes meeting Kelsi's. A fresh round of giggles escaped from Kelsi at the look on his face. Ryan looked as if he was wondering what in the world he had gotten himself into. But he pressed on, never missing a step as he began to sing again.

"'_What a bright time, it's the right time, to rock the night away,'_" he continued.

"'_Rock the night away_,'" the other four echoed, jumping forward to join Ryan at his microphone.

"'_Jingle bell time is a swell time,'_" Ryan went on, as the others jumped back to their respective microphones.

"'_To go riding in a one horse sleigh,_'" they all sang together. "'_Giddy up, jingle horse...'_" Chad sighed, joining his former teammates as they mimicked riding horses for that line again, looking as if he was fighting off a smile. "_'...that's the jingle bell,_" they all sang, Chad finally looking like he was getting into it, as the song came to a close. "'_That's the jingle bell. That's the jingle bell rock.'_"


	4. Sleigh Ride

**A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Here's a nice, sugary heap of Ryelsi holiday fluff for you all! It's been fun writing this and so, like I said in the first chapter (I think), I'm gonna keep posting oneshots up until New Years Day. I love holiday Ryelsi fluff! Hope you all enjoy this one. Let me know what you think!**** :) **

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"So, are you ever going to tell me where we're going?" Kelsi asked, glancing over at Ryan. It was Christmas Eve and Kelsi had gone over to Ryan's house with her family for dinner, just like they had the year before. She and Ryan were currently in their third year at Julliard and it seemed as if their relationship was getting stronger with every passing day. By this point, Kelsi had begun to think of the Evans as part of her family and she knew that Ryan felt the same way about her family. It only made sense that they would begin to celebrate the holidays together whenever they were able. Dinner had been eaten and afterward, Ryan informed Kelsi that he had a surprise for her. He had then proceeded to usher her out to his car, telling her that he was taking her somewhere special.

Now they had been in the car for an hour and Kelsi still had no idea where they were headed. "You'll see," Ryan answered, flashing her a quick smile. "We'll be there in about five minutes, but first…" He turned into a random parking lot and put the car into park before turning to her. "You need a blindfold," he announced, pulling a bandanna out of his coat pocket.

"Excuse me?" she blinked at him. "Are you serious?"

"Entirely," he grinned. "Come on, humor me. In a couple of minutes, we'll be reaching our destination and I don't want you to see it until I'm ready for you to. It'll be worth it, I promise."

"A blindfold?" Kelsi wrinkled her nose. "Can't I just keep my eyes closed?"

"You'd peek," he shook his head. "Come on. It's only for a few minutes."

"Oh…okay," she sighed. "But this better be worth it."

"It will be," he assured her, reaching over to put the blindfold on her. "Can you see anything?" he asked, once he was sure it was fastened properly.

"No," she replied. "Can we get going? The less time I have to wear this, the better."

"Okay, okay," he said in response, putting the car back in drive. Kelsi spent the rest of the ride in silence, wondering what her boyfriend was up to. She finally felt the car slow down and come to a stop and heard Ryan unfasten his seatbelt.

"Can I take this off now?" she asked.

"Nope," he answered cheerfully. "Hold still. I'll come around and get you." Kelsi let out another sigh as she heard his door open and close. A few seconds later, she was surprised to hear one of the others doors open and close before he finally reached her door. She shivered as a rush of air blew into the car. "Here." He carefully lifted her out of the car and set her down on her feet so he could close her door and lock the car. "All right, Kelsi. It's almost time for you to take that off; we just have to take a little walk first."

"A walk?" she repeated, instantly sounding anxious. "Ryan, I have a hard enough time not tripping over my own feet when I can see and...and you want me to walk with a blindfold on? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Definitely not," he chuckled. "Just hold onto me." He grabbed her hand as he spoke. "I won't let you fall. Trust me."

"Oh...okay," she said hesitantly, grabbing his arm with her free hand. She tightened her grip as they began walking, staying as close to him as possible. "How much longer is it?" she asked after a while, yelping as her foot began to slide.

"Just a few more steps," he replied, steadying her before she fell. She frowned as they kept walking, hearing what almost sounded like a horse whinnying. "Here," he added a couple seconds later. He released her hand and eased himself out of her grip.

"Ryan?"

"I'm right here," he said quickly. "Are you ready for your surprise?"

"No, Ryan, I want to keep this on all night," she answered, somewhat sarcastically, making him laugh.

"All right," he murmured, this time from behind her to unfasten her blindfold so she could see.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, her eyes going wide at the scene that greeted her. They were standing on the edge of a snow covered field that blended into a forest and there, before her eyes, stood a beautiful light brown horse and a black sleigh. "Oh! We're going on a sleigh ride?" Kelsi spun around to face Ryan.

"That was the plan, yes," he smiled.

"Oh...I've always wanted to go on a sleigh ride," she beamed at him.

"Well, then hop on," he advised, indicating for her to turn around. Kelsi nodded and turned back toward the sleigh, carefully climbing into it and scooting over to make room for Ryan.

"Oh, there's a blanket!" Kelsi exclaimed happily, reaching over to grab it so she could settle it around their legs. "This is perfect," she gushed as Ryan leaned forward to tell the driver they were ready. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, smiling when she let her head rest on his shoulder. "I can't believe you planned this." She snuggled a little closer to him as she spoke.

"Does that mean you like your surprise?" he teased.

"I love it," she said honestly. "It's so romantic." They fell into a comfortable silence for a while as the driver led the sleigh into the woods, enjoying all the beautiful scenery. Kelsi let out a contented sigh. "You know what would make this perfect?" she asked after a while.

"What's that?" he wanted to know.

"Some hot chocolate," she answered.

"Your wish is my command," he grinned, turning his head to kiss the top of hers before lifting up a small basket that she hadn't even realized he'd had. "Open it up."

"Okay," she said, doing a double take as she glanced at his face. Her usually in control boyfriend looked a little nervous, though she had no idea what he'd possibly have to be nervous about. She dismissed the thought as she took the basket, wondering if maybe she was seeing things. Kelsi opened the basket and smiled when she saw a thermos flanked by a couple of cups. "Hot chocolate?"

"Yeah," he managed, his voice sounding slightly strained.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Here...take out your cup and I'll pour you some hot chocolate."

"Okay," she agreed, reaching in to pull out the cup closest to her, her brow furrowing as she realized that there was something taped to the handle. "What in the world?" she asked, sneaking a glance at Ryan, who merely offered her a small smile in response. "There's something taped to the..." Kelsi trailed off, her eyes widening as she pulled the cup closer. "Oh my goodness," she breathed, bringing a hand to her mouth. There, taped to the handle of the cup was a beautiful diamond ring. "Ryan?" She gulped down a mouthful of air as her mouth opened and closed a few times. When she spoke again her voice was shaking. "Ryan...is that...is that what I think it is?"

"Kelsi, baby...we've known each other since ninth grade. We started off as friends and then we became best friends and somewhere along the way we fell in love. We've gone through a lot together...we've had some tough times, but instead of pulling us apart, they brought us closer together. I thought I loved you while we were in high school, but the way I felt for you then pales in comparison to the way I feel about you now. I'm falling a little more in love with you all the time." Ryan paused, looking deep into her eyes as he continued.

"You are...you are the single greatest gift in my life," he said simply. "Your love changed me from a boy into a man. Your love is like an addiction...the sweetest addiction in the world. I could spend the rest of my life with you and I still don't think it'd be enough...but that's what I want. A lifetime."

"Ryan," Kelsi whispered, blinking furiously against the tears threatening to cloud her vision.

Ryan caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "I want to fall asleep with my arms wrapped securely around you every night and I want my arms to still be around you when I wake up. I want to build a home and a family with you. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want to spend my life coming up with new ways to show you how much I love you. I want you to take my last name as your own." He smiled, all hints of nervousness gone as he continued. "A few years ago you made me the happiest guy in the world when you agreed to be my girlfriend. Now I'm hoping you'll make me the happiest _man_ in the world and agree to be my wife." Ryan lowered his hand from her cheek and held up the ring. "So? What do you say? Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she sniffled, barely able to speak over the lump in her throat. "Yes, of course I'll marry you." She bit back a sob as a huge grin broke across his face. He grabbed her shaking left hand and pulled her glove off, gently sliding the ring on her finger. "I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes as he kissed away her tears. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he murmured, bringing his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. She went back for a second one as soon as the first broke, unable to resist.

"Oh...oh Ryan..." An unexpected giggle escaped as she pressed her forehead against his. "I feel like I'm in a fairytale," she admitted. "The horse drawn sleigh, the hot chocolate, the proposal," she beamed at him. "It's all so magical."

"All we need is a little snow," he decided, using his hand to gently guide her head to his shoulder.

"That would be perfect," she agreed, holding up her left hand to inspect her ring.

"You like it?" he asked.

"I love it," she smiled. "It's...oh!" she gasped as something cold hit her face. "Oh, Ryan! It's starting to snow!"

"So it is," Ryan chuckled, shaking his head at the snow flurries that began to fall. "How appropriate." He pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Guess I picked a good night for a sleigh ride, huh?"

"It's the perfect night," she nodded, snuggling as close to him as she could. "Lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you," she added with a giggle. "Sorry...I couldn't help myself."

"I love you, Kelsi Nielson," Ryan chuckled, delighted with her.

"Not as much as I love you, Ryan Evans," she said softly, giving him a gentle squeeze. "I can't wait to be your wife."

"You and me both, baby," he murmured, resting his head on top of hers. "You and me both."


	5. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

**A/N: Yeah, so I had this idea for this oneshot and thought it would be kinda cute, but I couldn't figure out what song to use for it. I finally settled on _Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_ by 'NSYNC which fits well enough, I think. I have mixed feelings about this one, so I hope you all like it! The next song will be _Silent Night_...can't wait to write that one. :)**

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**"So, how do you feel?" The recently engaged Sharpay asked the soon to be married Kelsi. It was Christmas Eve, exactly one year after Ryan had proposed. In what had originally been seen as a strange decision, Ryan and Kelsi had decided to get married on Christmas Day. Sharpay had been the first to question their sanity as she couldn't imagine why they would want their anniversary to be the same day as Christmas. Ryan and Kelsi had exchanged a knowing smile and Ryan had proceeded to explain that Christmas was a time for miracles and magic and love. Kelsi had added that they could think of no better time to celebrate the love they had for each other than on Christmas.

Derby had jumped all over the idea instantly, declaring that she thought that Christmas was the perfect day for her son's wedding. The plans had begun immediately, with Derby, Sharpay, Kelsi and Kelsi's mother Karen all adding their own ideas. Ryan had wisely opted out of the planning, insisting that he would be happy with whatever they all wanted to do. The wedding and reception would be at the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City in a wedding that Kelsi had always secretly dreamed of having.

"Excited, nervous, scared, happy...really, really happy," Kelsi answered. "I can't wait!" It was half past eleven o'clock in the evening and all of the girls – Kelsi, Sharpay, Martha, Gabriella and Taylor – were hanging out in Kelsi's suite. "I just hope I don't trip and fall on my way down the aisle," she winced, imagining the scenario all too clearly.

"You won't," Gabriella said calmly.

"I hope not," Kelsi bit her lip.

"Your dad wouldn't let you fall," Martha pointed out. "The walk is nice and slow, anyway. You'll be fine."

"Just keep your eyes on Ryan's," Taylor advised.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Kelsi admitted, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks as she continued. "He's probably going to look so incredibly gorgeous that I'll somehow forget how to walk."

"Oh brother," Sharpay muttered, though she was smiling. Her smile softened as she studied her. "I think there's a better chance that Ryan will take one look at you in your wedding dress and have a heart attack right at the altar. You're going to be such a beautiful bride, Kelsi," she said sincerely. "Your dress is fabulous."

"It should be," Kelsi smirked. "You helped me pick it out."

"So...it's getting close to midnight...your time as a single woman is almost over," Taylor grinned. "Any last minute wild and crazy things you want to do before you become a married woman?"

"Honestly? I almost wish I could go find Ryan so we could get married now. I hate waiting," Kelsi said, giving her a sheepish smile.

"That's so cute...almost enough to make me wanna puke," Sharpay quipped.

"I can't help it," Kelsi shrugged, glancing over as her cell phone beeped, indicating that she had a text message. She reached over and grabbed it, a bright smile appearing on her face as she saw who it was from. She quickly replied to the text, surprising the others by getting to her feet. "Hey guys...I think I'm going to go find a vending machine...I want a soda."

"Uh-huh," Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Like any of us believe that. May I remind you that it's bad luck to see the groom the day of the wedding?"

"There's still time," Kelsi argued. "Twenty minutes, in fact."

"Ugh...fine...but you better be back in this room by 11:55," Sharpay warned. "So that gives you _fifteen _minutes."

"Better hurry, then," Gabriella giggled. "Your time is running out." Kelsi grinned at her before hurrying to the door and out of the room. She rushed down the hall, her face brightening when she caught sight of Ryan. She launched herself into his arms, unable to resist pulling his head down for a kiss.

"Hey," she said softly once they pulled apart.

"Hey," he echoed, beaming at her.

"I have an idea," she informed him. "Let's elope."

"Elope?" he laughed. "What about the wedding you spent a year planning?"

"It feels so far away," she complained. "I want to be married _now_."

"The idea does have some merit, I'll give you that. But..." he shook his head, his eyes twinkling at her. "If we do that there's a very good chance that my sister will track us down and kill us."

"That wouldn't be good," Kelsi decided. "I guess I can wait."

"It's not that long," he reminded her. "This time tomorrow we'll be husband and wife."

"So you're still planning on showing up?" she joked.

"Yup. You?" he asked, smirking at her.

"Baby, I was the one who wanted to elope just now, remember? Of course I'll be there," she replied. "It should be illegal you know," she said after a moment.

"What's that?" he asked, holding her close.

"Being this happy," she smiled at him. "Do you have any idea how much I love you, Evans?"

"Do you have any idea how much _I_ love _you_, Nielson," he countered.

"You know, your time calling me that is almost over," she sighed dreamily. "Starting tomorrow you'll have to change that Nielson to Evans."

"I can't wait," he murmured, cradling her head against his shoulder. "Kelsi Evans...sounds pretty good, if you ask me."

"It sounds perfect," she corrected. "I just wish...." She gave him a gentle squeeze. "I wish I could bottle the way I'm feeling and hand it out to everyone I see tomorrow for Christmas. It's such a wonderful feeling. Being so happy and in love...feeling so loved and safe...I wish everyone could feel that way."

"And that, my sweet Kelsi, is one of the reasons I love you so much," he told her. "You have such a beautiful heart." She smiled faintly, her grip on him tightening as they fell into a brief silence.

"Ryan?" she said finally.

"Hmm?"

"We're getting married tomorrow," she pulled away from him, amusing him by going into a series of small hops. "We're getting married tomorrow! Can you believe it?"

"Actually, no," he grinned. "We've been waiting for this day for so long and now it's finally here..."

"I know! I can't...oh," Kelsi frowned as she heard her cell phone beep. She'd almost forgotten that she hadn't put it down before rushing out of her hotel room.

"What?" he asked, watching Kelsi roll her eyes as she read her text message.

"It's your sister," Kelsi chuckled. "Reminding me that it's almost midnight and that I, and I quote, 'better get my butt back to my room'," she shook her head.

"Oh, forget her," Ryan advised. "We still have a couple of minutes." Another beep from Kelsi's cell phone.

"Now she wants me to tell you to stop stalling and bring me back," Kelsi giggled. "You guys know each other way too well."

"Ugh." It was Ryan's turn to roll his eyes. "I guess you'd better get back before she comes out and drags you away."

"Walk me?" she asked hopefully.

"Okay," he agreed, reluctantly letting go of her, though he grabbed her hand a second later.

"Hey..." Kelsi grinned. "This is the last time we'll ever take a walk as single people. Next time we walk together, we'll be married."

"Better make this a good walk then," he decided, dropping her hand in favor of wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"This is also the last time you'll ever have to drop me off at night," Kelsi realized. "After tomorrow, we'll be spending our nights together."

"Now there's a nice thought," Ryan quipped, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Spending our nights together..."

"Behave yourself," she said sternly, though she was fighting off a giggle.

"It's about time." They both looked up at the sound of Sharpay's voice. Sharpay was standing in the doorway of Kelsi's suite, giving Ryan a look of mock disapproval. "Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"

"I'm going to remember this moment when you and Zeke get married, Shar," Ryan informed her.

"Ooh, I'm shaking," she teased him. "Go back to your room and get some sleep, will ya? And you..." She turned her focus to Kelsi. "You get your butt in here. It's 11:58."

"So we have a minute," Ryan smirked. "You might want to turn around, Shar, so I can give my almost bride a proper kiss goodnight."

"Eww," Sharpay shuddered. "Kiss and get it over with," she added, obediently turning her back to them.

"Goodnight, baby," Ryan said softly, moving to stand in front of Kelsi as he gave her a soft kiss. "Merry almost Christmas."

"I love you..." Kelsi tenderly caressed his cheek. "Merry almost Christmas, my almost husband."

"Eww," Sharpay repeated.

"I love you too, my beautiful almost wife," Ryan said in response, giving Kelsi another kiss.

"Okay...that's it," Sharpay spun back around. "You guys are making my stomach churn here. You, go to your room," she ordered Ryan. "And you." To Kelsi. "In here. Right now."

"Spoilsport," Ryan muttered, unable to resist giving Kelsi another quick kiss.

"Goodnight honey." Kelsi gave him a quick hug and then darted into the room before Sharpay could add another comment.

"11:59," Sharpay narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Way too close for comfort, Ry."

"And who are you, the time police?" he shot back.

"I just don't want you and Kelsi to have any bad luck on your wedding day," Sharpay said sincerely, making him smile.

"I know that and I appreciate it," he assured her. "What?" he asked a second later when Sharpay's expression turned thoughtful.

"Nothing," she chuckled. "I'm just looking at my baby brother on the night before his wedding...You're going to make a great husband, Ryan. Kelsi's a very lucky girl."

"Oh, come here," he sighed, pulling her in for a hug. "I love you, Shar. Even when you're a pain in the neck."

"I love you too, Ry," she said softly. "Now...really. Go get some sleep. You need it." She glanced at her watch and grinned. "Especially seeing as you are now officially getting married today."

"It's midnight?" he asked, his face lighting up.

"It's midnight," she confirmed. "Merry Christmas, Ryan."

"Merry Christmas, Shar," he replied, smiling at her. "Merry Christmas, ladies!" He called into the room a second later. "I love you all," he added. "Especially my almost wife!"

"And again, I say eww...eww and goodnight," Sharpay said in response. "Say Merry Christmas, girls! I'm closing the door...and Kelsi, I swear to God, if you say anything about Ryan being your almost husband again, I'm going to puke. I mean it." She smirked at Ryan as the other girls called out a 'Merry Christmas, Ryan!', relieved when Kelsi didn't add anything to it. She gave Ryan a quick wave before promptly closing the door in his face. Ryan headed back to his room, surprised to hear a melody coming from his cell phone. He pulled it out of the pocket and smiled when he saw that it was a text message from Kelsi. His smile deepened as he read what it said... '_Merry Christmas, my almost husband. Love you!!! xoxo – Kelsi' _


	6. Silent Night

**A/N: Once again, I was having a hard time with the ending, but I think I'm pretty happy with this one. There was no way I could do this series without having at least one oneshot that related to the real meaning of Christmas, especially seeing as it's something I believe in personally. Now, if you've been reading this, odds are this won't be a problem because you already knew it was a Christmas story. But if this this isn't your kind of thing, then this probably isn't a oneshot for you. But anyway, hope you all enjoy it! **

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Kelsi woke up with a groan, her hands instantly going to her swollen stomach. A glance at the clock on her bedside table told her that it was a couple of hours after midnight which meant that it was officially Christmas...Christmas and her and Ryan's second anniversary. A faint smile appeared on her face as she looked at her husband. It had been a wonderful two years and she still woke up every morning feelings like the luckiest woman in the world. Her smile quickly turned into a scowl, however, when she saw that he was sleeping peacefully. Of course, he would be, _he _didn't have to deal with an actively kicking baby.

Kelsi sighed as she slowly worked her way into a sitting position and eased herself out of bed. She moved to their bedroom window and peered outside to see that it was snowing. She began absently rubbing her belly with both hands as she watched the snow, willing her baby to calm down. She was in her sixth month of pregnancy and couldn't help feeling like she was carrying a reincarnation of Ann Miller, the way the baby liked to move. "Calm down, little one," Kelsi murmured. "Please...please calm down for Mommy."

That was how Ryan found her when he happened to wake up a few minutes later, though she had begun pacing in front of the window slowly. He yawned as he got out of bed and walked over to her. "Can't sleep?"

"Your child is being difficult," Kelsi informed him, wincing at a particularly hard kick.

"Oh, so when she's being difficult, she's _my_ child," Ryan teased her.

"Yes," Kelsi answered simply. Ryan chuckled as he walked over to one of the armchairs in the room and pulled it over to the window.

"Come here," Ryan said, sitting down in the chair and patting his lap. "Maybe I can help."

"Ryan, I've been spending the last several minutes trying to convince our baby to stop kicking me and nothing works. What makes you think you'll have any luck?"

"Easy," he grinned at her. "I'll use my special Daddy powers."

"Special Daddy powers?" Kelsi lifted her eyebrow as she moved to sit on his lap, choosing to sit diagonally so she could look at him.

"Yes," Ryan answered seriously. He wrapped one arm around Kelsi to hold her securely in place and brought his other hand to her stomach. "Hey sweetheart, it's Daddy," he said softly, smiling when he felt a kick in response. "See?" He looked up at his wife. "It's working all ready. We're totally having a Daddy, daughter moment here."

"Or you just happened to put your hand on her favorite spot to kick me," Kelsi countered. "Either or."

"Ooh," Ryan winced as their baby kicked his hand again. "That was a hard one."

"Tell me about it," Kelsi muttered.

"You know what you need, little one?" Ryan directed the question to Kelsi's stomach. "A song...but what song?" He looked up and out the window, watching the snow falling. "It looks so peaceful out there," he said thoughtfully. "It's all calm and still...everyone is sleeping. Well..." He shot Kelsi a wry smile. "_Almost_ everyone. But still, it looks so peaceful. I wonder if this is what it was like that night."

"Hmm?" Kelsi asked, yawning as she rested her head against his.

"When Jesus was born," Ryan clarified. "Maybe not the weather, but...the feeling. All calm and still. The Prince of Peace coming to Earth in the form of a baby so that God could live with us to give us hope. The ultimate gift of love..."

"I bet it was like this," Kelsi decided, drawing comfort from both the beauty of the snow falling and the warmth of her husband. "Peaceful and still...oh," she groaned. "If only our daughter could feel this peace," she added with a tired sigh. "Maybe it would calm her down."

"That's it," Ryan declared. "The song."

"What song?" Kelsi asked.

"_'Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace,'_" Ryan sang softly. "_'Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts since alleluia. Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born,'_" he continued, smiling when he felt their daughter's kicks begin to slow down.

"'_Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light,'_" Ryan went on. "_'Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord at they birth. Jesus, Lord at thy birth.'_" He brought his hand to his lips to kiss it before bringing it back to Kelsi's swollen belly. "There, you see?" he said, his voice gentle in the darkness. "She just needed to be sung to, is all." He paused, waiting for Kelsi to respond. "Kelsi?" Another pause. "Kelsi?"

"Mmm," she mumbled, sounding mostly out of it.

"I guess both of you needed to be sung to," Ryan smiled. He managed to get her awake enough to help her get over to their bed, taking care to pull the covers up and around her before heading around to his side to join her. Another smile appeared on his face as he noticed that she had all ready fallen asleep. He gently slid a thin pillow under her stomach to support it before lying down beside her, facing her. "Sweet dreams, baby," he whispered, lifting his hand to gently stroke her hair away from her face. "Sleep well."


	7. I'll Be Home for Christmas

**Disclaimer #2: Yeah, I know I did one for the whole story all ready, but for the record? Tess, Monica & Andrew are from Touched by an Angel, which means....*insert drum roll here*...that I don't own them either. Shocking, right?**

**A/N: Okay, so...my original goal was to get a new oneshot up every day and I was doing pretty well with that, I thought, but now I've missed a couple of days for a varietly of reasons. The way I've been counting these, I figure that I'm about 3 oneshots behind. So...I have a new, possibly crazy, goal to get two oneshots posted today and tomorrow. This is more a challenge to myself than anything else. Now, as some of you know, I'm all about balance. I like covering a wide range of emotions/genres/whatever when I write because I think the combination makes stories feel more realistic. I actually didn't plan on having all the oneshots be related, but it all worked out that way. So with that in mind, I've covered the sappy and the funny & today I'm going a little more dramatic. This was inspired by both the song (the Rascal Flatts version is gorgeous) and my other oneshot of the same name (in my Christmas twoshot from last year) & features Ryan fighting to get home. This one is a crossover w/TbaA, btw. I've loved writing those characters in my forgotten fic, Then You Stand (which I hope to bring back & finish in 2010) and tt just felt so natural to include them here, especially considering that Ryan is in need of some help at one point. As such, this is heavy on the God/angel stuff, but hopefully not in an overly preachy way. This jumps back and forth between what's going on with Kelsi & what's happening to Ryan, so just remember that it's all happening at the same time if we're talking real time. Hoping it's not confusing & especially hoping that you all like it. Let me know. :)**

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**"Where is he?" An anxious Kelsi asked as she peered out the window. It was Christmas day and Kelsi, Ryan and their eight month old daughter Daisy had flown back to Albuquerque a week before to spend the holidays with their families. "He should've been back over an hour ago." She turned her attention back to her father-in-law. "It's really bad out there. What if he got in an accident?" It had begun to storm a couple of hours ago and seemed to be getting worse. Kelsi didn't really like thunderstorms all that much to begin with – a trait that had apparently been passed down to her daughter, who would cry every time there was an especially loud clad of thunder. A thunderstorm in and of itself would've been bad enough, but the fact that it hit on Christmas seemed to make it worse.

To top it all off, Derby had discovered that they had forgotten to buy bread for dinner and Ryan had volunteered to head out into the storm to look for some. Kelsi had tried to talk him out of it, arguing that a lot of the stores were probably closed for the holiday, but it hadn't worked. He'd decided that there had to be at least one store in the vicinity that would be open, if only for a few hours. He had promised her that he'd be fine and would be back in half an hour before giving both her and Daisy a kiss and leaving. That had been almost two hours ago. Kelsi was quickly going from being a little worried about her husband to having a full blown anxiety attack.

"He'll be fine," Vance said calmly. "Ryan's a very good driver."

"Yeah, but it's raining so hard," Kelsi bit her lip as she looked out the window again. "He probably can't see a thing."

"He'll be fine," Vance repeated, putting his hand on her shoulder in a show of support. "I know he will."

"Vance is right," Zeke piped up. "I'm sure Ryan will be home any minute."

"I hope..." Kelsi trailed off, jumping at a loud clap of thunder. Daisy began crying a couple of seconds later and Kelsi tore herself away from the window to head back into the family room to her daughter, an unexpected smile coming to her face at the scene that greeted her.

Sharpay had gotten to Daisy first and was balancing her on her hip, holding her securely with one arm and gently rubbing her back with her other hand. Sharpay had Zeke had gotten married a couple of years ago and had recently found out that they were expecting their first child. As such, both of them had been using Daisy as a way to practice for when their own baby arrived. "It's okay, Daisy," Sharpay was cooing to Daisy as Kelsi approached. "Calm down, sweetheart. It's okay." Sharpay glanced up at Kelsi and winced. "I don't think I'm helping too much," she admitted as Daisy reached for Kelsi.

"You're doing fine," Kelsi assured her with a small smile. "It's just the storm...it's always hard to get her to calm down." She carefully lifted Daisy from Sharpay's arms. "Ryan's the best at it," she added, holding her daughter close. "I think there's just something about being in her daddy's arms that makes her feel safe." At that Kelsi frowned. "My guess is that's who she wants."

"Hmm." At that Sharpay frowned, her brow crinkling slightly with worry. "I thought he'd be back by now."

"Me too," Kelsi sighed. "What if...what if something's wrong? It's dangerous out there..."

"Yeah, but...but maybe nothing's wrong," Sharpay offered, though Kelsi wasn't sure which one of them she was trying to convince. "Maybe he decided to pull over somewhere to wait out the storm."

"I hope so." Kelsi gently kissed the top of Daisy's head. "I really hope so." It was Sharpay's turn to sigh as she wandered over to the window.

"You better get your butt home soon, Ry," she muttered, trying desperately to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

Ryan kicked at the passenger side door as hard as he could, trying to get it to open. He had been on his way back from the grocery store and driving slower than usual. The rain made it impossible to see and he'd pulled over a couple of times in the hopes that he could wait it out. But he never seemed able to wait for too long, wanting to be home with his family, and aside from that the storm didn't look as if it would be stopping anytime soon. He was within five miles of home and had been inching his way along when some kind of animal he hadn't been able to identify had darted out into the road. He had jerked the wheel on instinct, just barely avoiding hitting the animal. Good news for said animal, but bad news for Ryan.

Jerking the wheel had been a very dangerous and stupid mistake; he'd realized that the second he did it as he temporarily lost control of the car. The next several seconds had been a blur of motion and panic as Ryan frantically tried to regain control. The car had ended up spinning around a couple of times, bouncing off a guardrail and eventually crashing into a tree. He'd spent several moments in shock after the car had mercifully come to a stop. The pain in his hand had jolted him back to reality...he'd been thrown around the driver seat when he'd lost control of the car and could vaguely remember his hand somehow slamming against his window. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed that, but quickly decided that he was happy that it had been his hand instead of his head.

He gave himself a fast inspection, looking for any signs of serious injuries – of which there miraculously seemed to be none. He was banged up and bruised, sure, but there wasn't anything that gave him reason to panic. Well...physically speaking. The fact that his car had effectively been totaled – a fact he was sure to confirm if he ever managed to get himself out of it – wasn't exactly comforting. He'd forced himself to take a long and calming breath, images of Kelsi and Daisy floating around in his mind. His thoughts had then gone to his cell phone and he'd begun to look for it, eventually finding it near the passenger door...in two pieces. "Perfect," he'd muttered with a groan. He took another deep and calming breath. Things didn't look so good for him at the moment. No cell phone to use to call his family for help and no other cars on the road.

The storm had to calm down sometime, he'd decided, opting to stay in the car until it passed. That had been forty-five minutes ago and he was getting anxious...anxious and cold. It finally looked as if the storm was passing, he'd realized. The flashes of lightning and the claps of thunder seemed to be happening less frequently with every minute that passed. It was still raining pretty hard, but this was a definite improvement. He'd sighed as he thought about his options. There were only two, really. The first was to stay in the car and hope someone drove by and the second was to get out and start walking. Neither option appealed to him all that much, but he'd quickly decided on the second one. Maybe not the brightest idea in the world, but he had to do something. His family was probably getting more worried with every minute that passed, and he imagined that by this point Kelsi would be going out of her mind with panic.

He'd nodded to himself. That had settled it – he had to try to get home to his family. Maybe he'd get lucky and find some help on the way, but one way or another he would get home. With his decision made, he'd try to get out of the car...only to realize that his door wouldn't open. That was when he'd started to kick at the other door, letting out a cry of triumph when it finally popped open. He made sure his coat was completely fastened as he moved over to the passenger seat and climbed out of the car and into the cold, cold rain. He kicked the door closed, making a mental note to call to have it towed as soon as he was able, and began his journey. "Don't worry, baby," he muttered as Kelsi's face came to mind. "I'm coming home."

* * *

"That's it!" Kelsi cried suddenly, making everyone else in the room jump in surprise. Another hour had passed and there was still no sign of her husband. The storm had finally passed, but it was still raining. She had somehow managed to put Daisy down for a nap with the help of her mother and Derby, but she'd been going to look out the window every five minutes looking for any sign of Ryan. "I can't take it anymore! I'm going out and looking for him."

"It's raining pretty hard, sweetheart," Kelsi's mother Karen said anxiously. "It's not safe."

"I don't care!" Kelsi protested. "Something's wrong, Mom. He should've been home hours ago."

"Maybe he's waiting out the storm," Zeke offered.

"He would've called," Kelsi shook her head. "He'd known I'd be worrying about him and he would've called. He always calls if he's running late. Always." Her lip trembled as she looked from one person to the next: Karen, Zeke, Vance, Sharpay, Derby and her dad, Keith. "It's been hours and he hasn't called once. We've all tried calling him, but he's not answering either. Something's wrong, I can feel it. I have to find him."

"I'll go with you," Sharpay decided, instantly getting to her feet. "Kelsi's right. There's no way Ryan would do this to all of us. If he's not calling or answering, it's because he can't for some reason. We have to find him."

"Wrong," Zeke said sternly, getting to his feet as well. "There is no way I'm letting either one of you go out there. It's not safe." He lifted his hand as both Kelsi and Sharpay opened their mouths to protest. "_I'll_ go."

"I'll come with you," Vance nodded.

"Me too," Keith offered. "The more eyes to look for Ryan, the better."

"Oh, please be careful," Derby pleaded. "It's bad enough that Ryan has gone missing...we don't need to lose any of you, too."

"We will be, darling," Vance promised. "We'll be fine and we'll bring him home."

"Everyone have their phones?" Karen asked, waiting for each of them to nod. "Make sure you bundle up, too, it's probably freezing out there."

"Zeke." He looked up as Kelsi approached, his eyes softening as he watched her struggling not to cry. "Find him. Please."

"I will," he said softly. "I'm not coming back into this house until I have Ryan with me. I promise."

"Thank you," she whispered, giving him a hug.

* * *

Ryan had never been so cold in his entire life, of that he was certain. Cold and getting colder all the time. He had probably walked at least one mile, though it was getting harder and harder to press on. At this point the only thing that kept him going was the thought of his family, particularly his girls. He could only imagine how frantic Kelsi must be getting and often found himself praying that she wouldn't venture out in this weather to look for him. He knew she'd try, but it was his hope that the others would stop her from actually leaving. The thought of Kelsi driving in this rain sent his heart beating in double time, so he decided to keep his focus on what he was doing.

Ryan shivered violently as he continued; now praying for a car to drive by. The walk wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't raining. The rain made the experience significantly more miserable than it would've been if it'd just been cold. Sure, he'd still be struggling, but at least he wouldn't be drenched. He had to give credit to whoever made his coat, however. It had done a pretty good job of keeping his upper body dry in the beginning, but now the water was starting to seep through. He pulled it tighter around himself and was grateful that he had remembered that Kelsi had stuck gloves in the pockets of the coat. Like the coat, they had helped his hands at first, but again like the coat, the water had seeped through. He had long since lost his hat, which had gone flying away with the wind.

He came to a stop under a tree...not that it offered much in the way of protection. He wasn't sure if it was the cold or the rain, but he had to keep stopping to rest for a few seconds before he could continue again. He felt like a human bruise, he decided. A wet and freezing human bruise. He may not have sustained any serious injuries in the crash, but being thrown around the car had taken its toll. His entire body ached and the weather was making it worse. Ryan let out a long sigh as he willed himself to start walking again.

The sound of the car honking made him pause. At first he thought he was hearing things, but then it beeped again. It was coming from behind him, he realized, slowly turning around in time to see the car coming to a stop. He watched as the driver window rolled down slightly and hesitantly made it way over to it. He'd been hoping a car would show up, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to be careful. "Hello?"

"Hello." The response came from the driver, a blond man who looked to be somewhere in his thirties. He looked friendly enough, Ryan decided as the man continued. "You look like you could some help."

"I got in a car accident about a mile back," Ryan confirmed, his teeth chattering. "Car's completely totaled...along with my cell phone."

"You must be freezing out there," another voice said, making Ryan jump in surprise. He had completely failed to notice the woman in the passenger seat. She also looked to be somewhere in her thirties and had long auburn hair and friendly eyes. There was an Irish lilt to her voice that was oddly comforting. "Would you care for a ride?"

"That...that would be great," Ryan admitted. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not," the blond man said in response. "Hop on in." Ryan hesitated for a moment as he studied the couple. "I'm Andrew, by the way," the blond man added. "And this is Monica."

"You don't need to be worrying about us," Monica smiled at him. "We mean you no harm."

"Sorry," Ryan said automatically, suddenly feeling rude. "It's just..."

"Don't be sorry," Monica said quickly. "We understand. Can't be too careful these days, you know."

"Thank you so much for stopping," Ryan said as he opened the back door and climbed into the car. It was odd...any hesitation he'd had about the couple had seemed to vanish, though he wasn't entirely sure why. There was just something about them that made him feel safe. "I really appreciate it."

"It's not a problem," Monica assured him. "I think there might be a blanket back there," she added as Andrew fiddled with the heat to try and make it warmer. Ryan quickly fastened his seatbelt as he looked at the seat beside him, surprised to see that were was indeed a blanket folded up. He was certain it hadn't been there when he'd first gotten in, but he shrugged, wondering if the cold was starting to affect his brain. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it around him, anxious to try and warm up some.

"I don't live very far from here," Ryan told them as the car began to move. "It's just a couple of miles down this road and then you make a right. I'll tell you when we get there." He paused as the car inched its way down the road, grateful to discover that Andrew seemed to be a safe driver. "Um...do you either of you have a phone I could use? I wanted to call my family...I mean, it's not that far, like I said, but...but they're probably getting really worried about me."

"No, we don't," Monica answered, flashing him a sympathetic look. "But I think there might be a diner down the road that we could stop in. I'm sure they have a phone." She smiled as she looked at Andrew. "I could go for a nice cup of coffee, too."

"Oh, I know that all too well, Monica," Andrew chuckled, giving her a knowing look in response. "You can _always_ go for a nice cup of coffee."

Ryan leaned his head against the backseat and closed his eyes in exhaustion as the car inched its way down the road. He had never been happier to be in a car in his life. He was still freezing, but the warmth of the car and the blanket were helping. His eyes opened as the car came to a stop, realizing they were parked in front of the diner. He grimaced as he opened his door, reluctant to go back out into the rain, even if it was only for a few steps. He darted to the door as fast as he could, holding it open for Monica and Andrew before heading over to the bathrooms to look for the phones so he could call home. He dug into his pocket, relieved to find some change. He never kept change in his coat pockets and wasn't entirely sure how it got there, but as he dialed the phone with cold fingers he decided he didn't care. The only thing that mattered at the moment was talking to his wife and letting her know that he was okay.

"Ryan?!" He closed his eyes against the sound of Kelsi's voice, deciding that it had never sounded so sweet.

"It's me, baby," he replied. "I'm okay, just cold." He winced as she fired off a string of questions, her voice sounding more anxious with every new one she asked. He quickly explained what had happened, flinching every time she gasped. By the time he finished, she had lost her battle against her tears and he found himself suddenly wishing he could somehow jump through the phone lines and hold her. "Baby, I'm fine. Please don't cry," he said softly. "I'll be home soon."

* * *

Ryan sighed as he headed back towards Monica and Andrew, who had grabbed a table by the door. He had struggled to get Kelsi to calm down, making her promise to sit down and try to relax before apologizing about a hundred times for making her worry so much. The phone had eventually been passed to his mother, who had promised that she'd call the other men to come and pick Ryan up. Now, all he had to do was wait.

"We ordered you some coffee," Monica told him brightly as he sat down, gesturing towards the mug that sat before him.

"Thank you," Ryan said gratefully, instantly wrapping his hands around the mug to warm them up. "How much was it?"

"Don't worry about it," Andrew said quickly. "It's on us."

"Thank you," Ryan said softly, looking at both of them in turn. "For the coffee, for picking me up…for everything. I really appreciate you going through so much trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble," Monica assured him. "And besides, helping people is kind of our specialty." She exchanged a knowing smile with Andrew. "Were you able to get in touch with your family?"

"Yes," Ryan nodded, taking a sip of the coffee. "They should be here soon." Sure enough, the door of the diner opened about ten minutes later and Vance, Keith and Zeke piled in. "There they are." He smiled at first Monica and then Andrew. "I should be going…thank you, again, for all of your help."

"It was our pleasure," Monica said warmly, lifting her hand up for him to shake. "You are a very blessed man, Ryan Evans. I hope that you know that."

"I do," Ryan nodded, accepting her handshake before offering his hand to Andrew.

"You guys be careful going home," Andrew cautioned. "The roads are awful…but then, you all ready found that out, didn't you?" He added with a chuckle. "Have a merry Christmas."

"You too," Ryan responded, giving them both another wave before hurrying over to his father. "Dad!"

"Thank goodness," Vance replied, pulling his son in for a hug. "About gave your mother and I a heart attack, you know. Not to mention your poor wife." He was smiling as he pulled away, though Ryan could still see traces of worry in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry about the car, Dad," Ryan said quickly. "I know it was stupid to jerk the wheel like that but…" He trailed off as Vance held his hand up.

"Forget about it," Vance said honestly. "I'm just happy you're all right."

"You sure know how to worry people, you know that?" Zeke joked, pulling Ryan in for a guy hug. "I think Kelsi has been on the verge of a nervous breakdown for the past few hours."

"I'm so sorry," Ryan winced as he looked at Keith. "I didn't mean to make you all worry. Especially Kelsi…I would've called if I could…I'm so sorry your daughter has been so upset. It's all my fault."

"Why'd you try to walk home?" Keith asked.

"I had to get home to my family," Ryan answered simply, making Keith smile.

"Exactly. You were trying to get home to your family. I don't like seeing my little girl so upset, but it wasn't your fault." Keith pulled him into a guy hug. "I'm happy your okay. Now...what do you say we get you home to my little girl?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Ryan smiled. "Oh! Wait, I wanted to introduce you all to the nice couple that picked me up. They're sitting right over..." Ryan trailed off as he looked back at the table he'd just been sitting in...only to find it empty. "What?" he whispered. "Where'd they go?"

"You feeling okay, Ryan?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I was just sitting over there," he began, pointing to the table in question. "With the couple that picked me up, but...but now they're gone." He frowned.

"I think we'd better get you home, Son," Vance decided. "You've had a long day."

* * *

Kelsi stood guard at the front door waiting, letting out a sigh of relief when she spotted the car. She managed to hold off opening the door until the car came to a stop, yanking it open as soon as the car doors opened and the men began getting out.

"Don't even think about it," Zeke warned, apparently sensing that she was about to come running out. "It's freezing out here. Stay."

"What am I, a cocker spaniel?" she asked, though she obeyed for the moment, her eyes glued to Ryan's face as he hurried towards her. "The heck with it," she muttered, darting outside to meet Ryan halfway, hurling herself into his arms. The rain was much colder than she had anticipated, but she didn't care about that as she clung onto him as tightly as she could. "Oh Ryan." His name came out on a sob as he somehow found the strength to lift her just off her feet and carry her into the house.

"You couldn't wait five seconds?" he teased as he lowered her back to her feet.

"I've waited long enough," she mumbled, clutching the wet fabric of his coat. "You really scared me," she whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, baby," he said softly, pressing his frozen lips to the side of her head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, pulling back just enough to take his face in her hands. "You're freezing!"

"No arguments there," he admitted, bringing a hand to one of hers to hold it in place as he turned his head to kiss it. "I messed up my hand and there's isn't a part of me that doesn't hurt, but I'm okay."

"You're okay," Kelsi let out a mostly humorless chuckle. "You're freezing and you're telling me that everything hurts, but you're okay? We need to get you to a hospital," she decided. "You should be seen."

"Baby, look at me. I'm fine. I need to get changed into some dry clothes so I can warm up, but I'm fine. I promise," he said, his eyes softening when she sniffled.

"Ryan Evans," she began. "If you ever scare me like this again, so help me..." She broke off with another sob as she began showering him with quick kisses, kissing his face, his neck, his shoulder – anywhere she could reach. "I have never been so worried in my life." She frowned as she moved her hands to unfasten his coat. "We need to get you warmed up," she nodded, yanking his coat off him. "Can someone take this? Please?" She waited for Zeke to take the coat out of her hands before pulling Ryan close again. "Anyone else that wants to hug him has to hug me, too," she announced tearfully, unwilling to let him go.

Ryan rested his head against hers as first Derby and then Sharpay stepped up to wrap their arms around both Ryan and Kelsi, soon followed by Karen. "You ever pull a stunt like this again and I'll kill you," Sharpay muttered in his ear, sounding as if she'd been crying some too.

"Wouldn't that be counter-productive?" Ryan quipped, making her chuckle.

"Go get changed, would you? You're soaking wet," Sharpay ordered.

* * *

"I cannot even tell you how good it feels to be dry again," Ryan declared, smiling at his wife as he came out of the bathroom. Kelsi had changed as well, having gotten mostly soaked when she'd darted outside.

"I bet it does," she said softly, getting up from the chair she'd been sitting in. "Let me see your hand." She grabbed his hand with both of hers to inspect it, wincing in the process. "This looks awful. Come here." She ushered him back into the bathroom and led him to the sink.

"I all ready washed it," he told her.

"Well, we're washing it again," she informed him, grabbing a washcloth and squirting some soap onto it so she could clean it. A smile slowly spread across his face as he reveled in her naturally tender touch.

"I love you," he said softly as she dried his hand off and began to wrap a bandage around it.

"I love you too," she murmured. "But I meant what I said earlier...if you ever scare me like you did today, so help me..."

"I really am sorry I worried you," he said seriously, waiting until she was finished to pull her into his arms.

"I can't believe you tried to walk home," she admitted. "In this weather...you're insane, you do know that."

"I had to get back here to you," he murmured. "And Daisy. I wasn't about to celebrate Christmas away from my girls. I love you both way too much for that."

"You could've been killed," Kelsi bit her lip. "You could've hit the tree head on...you could've been hit on your way home..."

"But I wasn't," he cut in.

"Thanks to that couple," Kelsi smiled. "I wish we knew more about them...I'd love to be able to thank them myself."

"Hmm," Ryan frowned, remembering the way Monica and Andrew had just disappeared. "It was so strange...one minute they were there and the next they weren't..."

"Maybe they were angels," Kelsi offered. "Sent here to save you and then when you were safe...they disappeared."

"Angels?" he repeated, somewhat skeptically.

"Why not?" she shrugged. "It's Christmas, after all. Aren't you always the one saying it's a time for miracles?" She smiled at him. "I say they were angels," she nodded. "Angels sent by God to make sure you got home for Christmas."

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Completely. If God can send down His son to be born to give all of us hope and peace and all that wonderful stuff...why can't He send down angels to help us when we need them?" she challenged.

"Good point," he conceded. "And maybe you're right." He kissed her forehead. "I guess we'll never know for certain."

"Well, there is one thing I _do _know for certain," she announced after a few moments of silence had passed. "You're still cold," she said quietly, hugging herself closer to him to help warm him up. "Too cold."

"Hmm...well, you know, body heat is one of the best ways to warm someone up," he began with a smirk.

"Oh, no," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I know where you're going with this and it's not happening...at least not right now. It's almost time for dinner."

"But I'm cold _now_," he pointed out. "We have some time...everyone else is downstairs..." He brushed his lips against hers. "Daisy is still sleeping...what do you say?" She sighed, letting him kiss her again.

"Later," she promised, somewhat breathlessly.

"What's wrong with now?" he challenged, kissing her again.

"You are way too good at this," she half giggled, half complained as they broke apart. "Or maybe I'm just an easy target. Get back here." She pulled his head down for another kiss, but they both paused when they heard Daisy crying. "Hmm...I guess this _will_ have to wait until later," she sighed, though her eyes were twinkling. "I'm not the only one who missed you, you know. I think our little girl has been missing you too. She's very smart, our baby...I think she knew something was wrong." Kelsi's look turned sheepish as she grabbed Ryan's non-injured hand and led him out of the room.

"And okay, Mommy freaking out probably didn't help," she conceded. "But even so...she seemed more anxious than usual during the storm and was still upset when it stopped. It took me and both of our moms to get her to go down for a nap. I think she's been wanting her daddy." Daisy was still crying when they reached the crib and Kelsi couldn't help smiling as their daughter reached for Ryan. "Yeah...I think she's _definitely_ been missing Daddy."

"It's okay, sweetheart," Ryan said, his voice tender as he carefully lifted Daisy out of her crib and cradled her close. "Daddy's here." He gently kissed the top of her head as he began slowly rocking from side to side. "Oh Daisy...my precious little flower..." He kissed the top of her head again, taking a moment to breathe in her sweet scent. "Daddy loves you so, so much." He turned towards his wife and smiled. "I love _both_ my girls."

"I think I can speak for both me and Daisy when I say that we love you too," Kelsi smiled as she wrapped her arms around the two most important people in her life. "Very, very much." She brought her hand to his cheek. "I can't even tell you how happy I am to have you here with us right now."

"I can't even tell _you_ how happy I am to _be _here with you guys right now," he said softly, brushing his lips against her forehead. "Thank goodness Monica and Andrew showed up when they did."

"Not thank goodness," she smiled before pointing upwards with one hand. "Thank _God_."

"Okay," he grinned, glancing up. "Thank You God. Thank You for letting Monica and Andrew show up when they did to bring me home for Christmas."

"Thank You for _sending_ Monica and Andrew," Kelsi corrected, making him chuckle. Her eyes softened as she studied her husband. "Thank You for bringing my husband home," she added, her voice breaking slightly. "Thank You for giving him to me in the first place."

"Thank You for my wife," Ryan said simply, his smile returning as he felt Daisy's small hand on his cheek. "And thank You for our baby girl," he added, gently bringing her hand to his lips. "Our beautiful little flower."

"Amen," Kelsi said quietly, leaning in to give her daughter a soft kiss on her silky smooth cheek. Ryan held both his girls close for another few moments, committing the moment to memory as Kelsi let her head rest against his chest while she lightly rubbed Daisy's back. A knock at the door broke the silence. "Come in," Kelsi called, glancing over as the door opened to reveal a smiling Derby.

"Oh my goodness," Derby breathed. "Now there's a picture if I've ever seen one. You'll have to indulge me and let me get one after we eat. But for now, I came up here to tell you that dinner is ready." Her eyes lit up a second later. "Oh yes, before I forget, there's a package for you on the table in the foyer, Ducky, from a Monica and Andrew...something." She waved her hand in front of her. "I don't recall what the last name was...or if there _was_ a last name."

"A package from Monica and Andrew?" Kelsi repeated, her eyebrows lifting as she looked at her husband.

"No way," Ryan muttered in disbelief. "I never got around to giving them my address..."

"Come on," Kelsi grinned, pulling away from him only to grab his hand. "We gotta go see what it is." They followed Derby out of the room and down the stairs and Ryan passed Daisy over to Derby before letting Kelsi drag him to the table where a green and gold package sat waiting. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Kelsi asked. "Open it up."

"This is crazy," Ryan shook his head, picking up the small note attached to the package.

"What's it say?" Kelsi asked.

"_Dear Ryan, We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with your beautiful family. You are a blessed man indeed. Christmas is a time for giving and so we saw it fitting that we should you a gift. We hope that every time you look at it, that you will be reminded of the love God has for you and the love He also has for your lovely wife Kelsi and your precious daughter Daisy, along with the love He has for all of His children. May your days be filled with that love always and may you also be constantly filled with His peace. In God's love, Monica & Andrew_," Ryan read quietly.

He set the note down on the table and carefully opened the package, removing first the beautiful wrapping paper and then opening the top of the box inside to reveal a pair of beautiful ornaments. One was a silver and white dove with an olive branch in its mouth and the other was a heart in a shimmering shade of red. "Oh wow," Kelsi gasped as she gazed into the box. "A dove and a heart...symbols of peace and love." She looked up at Ryan, her eyes wide with awe. "Still wondering if they were angels?"

"This is crazy," Ryan said, sounding slightly dazed. "These kinds of things don't just happen...right?"

"It's Christmas," Kelsi smiled. "Anything can happen." She caressed his cheek. "Especially miracles. Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas," he replied slowly, still trying to wrap his mind around all that had happened that day. But as he gazed into the eyes of the woman he loved, he couldn't help but believe that she was right. Christmas _was_ a time for miracles. Even seemingly impossible ones by getting picked up by two angels in the cold, pouring rain as he tried to make it home for Christmas. He carefully set the box with the ornaments back on the table so he could pull her into his arms. "Happy anniversary," he added, feeling his heart swell with love for her as her beautiful blue eyes twinkled at him.

"Happy anniversary," she echoed, bringing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

* * *

,

"We did good tonight, didn't we Tess?" a soft voice with an Irish lilt to it asked. Unbeknownst to Ryan and Kelsi, they were not alone in the foyer. There by the door stood three angels: Monica, Andrew, and a slightly overweight older woman named Tess.

"You sure did, angel babies," Tess replied, smiling at first Monica and then Andrew. "You sure did. You found that boy just in the nick of time."

"Was he really in danger, Tess?" Monica asked, somewhat anxiously.

"Care to answer that, Angel Boy?" Tess asked Andrew.

"Yes...and no," Andrew smiled. "You see, no one else was going to be driving by and by the time his family would've found him, it would've been too late," he told her. "But that's why we were sent here. To make sure that Ryan got home safely."

"Home in time for to celebrate Christmas," Monica said happily. "It reminds me of that song. You know the one I mean, Tess?" she asked. "Let's see, how did it go?" She pondered for a moment, completely missing the look exchanged between Tess and Andrew. "Oh yes! I remember now..._'I'll be home for Christmas,_" she crooned, making the other two wince. "_'You can count on me..._'"

"Monica," Tess interjected, relieved when Monica stopped singing. "That's all right, Angel Girl, that's all right. We know the song, don't we Andrew?"

"Yes," Andrew agreed quickly.

"The important thing is that you brought Ryan home to his family," Tess continued before Monica could respond. "He is safe and warm and surrounded by the people he loves the most in this world."

"They look so happy," Monica smiled as Ryan and Kelsi headed to the dining room, holding hands. "Such a sweet family, too. Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"You never know, baby," Tess replied. "Maybe we will."

"But for now..." Andrew began. "I think it's time for us to go."

"And I think you're right, Angel Boy," Tess smiled at him.

"Then I guess there's just one thing left for me to say," Monica declared. "Merry Christmas to all," she began, looking in the direction of the dining room. "And to all a good night."


	8. Frosty the Snowman

**A/N: I feel like there've been some strange forces at work, determined to keep me from finishing these the way I planned. There was supposed to be a oneshot once a day every day from December 20th to January 1st which means 13 total. That obviously didn't happen since things kept coming up that kept me from being able to write. I posted my last oneshot, fully intending to get a couple up a day for the next couple of days only to wake up that next morning feeling like I'd been run over by a bus. Ended up spending most of the day and today trying to sleep it off. Feeling better now, though still not too great, and still wanting to get these blasted things finished. I read somewhere that technically you can celebrate Christmas through Jan. 6th which is supposedly when the three wise men visited the baby Jesus, so that said...I'm going to finish these out until there are 13 total. This one is total, silly fluff...not my best, but cute, I think. Wasn't sure how to end it, but I think it works. Hope you like it!**

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'_Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul…' _Ryan groaned as he entered his apartment after braving the cold to go shopping. A couple of weeks ago, Kelsi and Ryan had decided to buy a bunch of the classic Christmas shows on DVD so they could play them for Daisy whenever they wanted. These were shows that Kelsi and Ryan had grown up watching at Christmas time like Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Daisy had seemed to be entertained by all of them, but none had captured her heart as thoroughly as Frosty.

Daisy was now twenty months old and seemed to be getting smarter and more active with every day that passed. She had begun to talk and was slowly building her vocabulary, able to repeat words when prompted. She was also starting to put together sentences and these days it seemed as if almost all of her sentences involved her beloved Snowman. If she had it her way, she'd watch Frosty constantly. She was forever asking one or both of her parents to put it in and Ryan and Kelsi, wanting to keep their little girl happy, obliged more often than not.

Ryan was all for keeping his baby happy, but at this point he was starting to hear the blasted theme song in his sleep. It had been playing when he'd left the apartment to go shopping and it was playing now. He shook his head, wondering how many times Kelsi and Daisy had watched it while he was gone. He set his bags on the floor and nearby table so he could take off his coat. The family was set to leave for Albuquerque in a couple of days for Christmas and Ryan couldn't help hoping that it'd be warmer than it was in New York City. It had been bitterly cold this morning when he and Kelsi had discussed how they still didn't have any presents for any of their parents or Sharpay or Zeke or Troy and Gabriella.

Ryan wasn't exactly sure how Kelsi had managed it, but what had started off as being a family shopping trip had somehow turned into Ryan going by himself. Something about it being too cold for Daisy. That Ryan could agree with…he didn't like the thought of his little girl being out in this weather. What he couldn't figure out was how Kelsi had convinced him that _he_ should be the parent to go.

Of course, he thought as he picked up his bags again, maybe his wife had just been trying to spare him for more Frosty viewings, knowing how tired he was of the Snowman. Kelsi was getting sick of the show, too, but seemed to have a greater level of patience for it than Ryan did. He headed into the living room, unable to resist smiling when he saw his wife and Daisy cuddled up together on the sofa.

"Hi honey," Kelsi smiled at him.

"Hi Daddy!" Daisy echoed cheerfully, instantly scrambling off the couch and scampering over to him.

"Hi sweetheart!" he responded with as much enthusiasm as she'd given him, feeling his heart swell with love for his baby.

"Hug," she demanded, following him over to the kitchen table. Ryan quickly set his bags down on the table so he could sweep his daughter up into his arms. "Daddy home." Daisy snuggled up to him.

"Daddy home," he repeated, smiling at Kelsi as he carried Daisy back to the couch. "It's freezing out there," he complained to his wife.

"Oh poor baby," Kelsi teased him. "How about some hot chocolate?" she asked as he sat down beside her.

"That would be great," he answered.

"Okay." She gave him a quick kiss before getting up and heading into the kitchen.

"Look Daddy!" Daisy exclaimed, pointing at the TV. "Fosty!" Daisy hadn't quite mastered the R sound yet, and had a habit of leaving them out completely.

"I see that," he nodded. "Have you and Mommy been watching Frosty?"

"Yes," she beamed at him. "Fosty again!" Ryan barely suppressed a groan.

"You just watched it," he reminded her.

"Fosty again!" she repeated.

"Oh come on, sweetheart. There's a lot of shows we could watch." He set her down on the couch and dropped off of it to head over to the shelf by the TV that held all of their DVDs. "See? There's the Charlie Brown Christmas or Mickey's Christmas Carol." He waved the DVD at his daughter. "You like Mickey, right? Mickey and Pluto and Goofy."

"Goofy funny," she decided.

"Yeah!" he agreed. "And then you have Minnie and Donald and Daisy. This is a classic," he informed her. "Why don't we watch this?"

"Fosty."

"No, no Fosty…um, Frosty," he corrected, glancing up at Kelsi's giggle.

"Fosty!" she demanded.

"We can watch Frosty later," he promised.

"Fosty _now_," she pouted. "Fosty! Fosty, Fosty, Fosty!"

"I think our daughter is a Frosty-a-holic," Kelsi said solemnly, as she made her way back into the room with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"How many times did you watch it when I was gone?" he asked.

"Three," she admitted.

"How can you not be sick of it?" he wanted to know.

"It makes Daisy happy…and I always did like Frosty…" Kelsi gave him a sheepish look. "He was always my favorite growing up."

"Hey, I have nothing against the Snowman," Ryan protested. "I'm, you know, pro-Frosty or whatever, but…we've watched it about a million times in two weeks."

"Oh come on," Kelsi chuckled. "It hasn't been _that_ much. Half a million, tops," she joked, her eyes sparkling.

"It's starting to get to me, Kelsi," he admitted. "Every minute I'm awake…Frosty. I try to sleep and the theme song rungs through my head. It has to stop. At this rate, I'll be twitching by Christmas."

"Oh Ryan. No one has ever started twitching because they watched Frosty the Snowman too many times," Kelsi rolled her eyes, amused.

"Even so," he shook his head. "I'm the head of this family and I'm putting my foot down. No more Frosty…at least for today."

"Fosty!" Daisy exclaimed, looking at Kelsi for help. "Fosty, Mommy."

"Come here," Kelsi said, flashing Ryan a mischievous look as she motioned for her daughter to come closer. Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Kelsi began talking to Daisy, keeping her voice so soft that Ryan couldn't hear her.

"Okay, what are you…" Ryan trailed off as Daisy climbed back off the couch and walked over to him, wrapping her little arms around his legs.

"Fosty…please Daddy?" she pleaded, though her 'please' sounded closer to 'peas'. She looked up at him, pouting.

"Oh, this isn't fair," Ryan sighed, glancing at him wife, who merely smirked at him.

"Hey, you're the head of the family," Kelsi pointed out innocently. "Tell her no."

"Okay," Ryan agreed, gently peeling Daisy's arms from his legs so he could kneel down in front of her. "Daisy."

"Daddy," she replied. Ryan felt his lip twitch, marveling over how she had somehow managed to make her tone match his. His little girl was so smart for her age; he couldn't help thinking, even as he worked to keep his voice partly stern as he continued.

"You know I love you, sweetheart, and I know you love Frosty, but we're not watching him anymore today. We can watch tomorrow," he added quickly. "I promise. But no more today. Okay?"

"Fosty now," she argued. "Please Daddy?" He opened his mouth to tell her no, but paused when she leaned in to hug him. "I love you."

"Not fair," Ryan mumbled, wrapping his arms around his daughter.

"Fosty?" she asked hopefully.

"Okay, okay. You win," Ryan sighed. "We can watch Frosty."

"Yay!" Daisy cheered, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Way to tell her no, honey," Kelsi giggled as Daisy and Ryan headed back over to the couch. "I thought you were worried about getting a twitch from watching Frosty too much?"

"Oh shush," he muttered, though he was smiling as he sat down next to her. Daisy climbed first onto the couch and then onto Ryan's lap, snuggling against him. Kelsi grabbed the remote and hit play. "So, I'm a pushover." He wrapped his arm around Kelsi. "How am I supposed to say no to this face?" he asked, nodding down at Daisy. "Or this one?" he added, caressing Kelsi's cheek as he asked.

"You're not," she said simply, a slightly wicked smile on her lips. "That was kind of the goal."

"I'm no match for you two, am I?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Nope," Kelsi answered, giving him another quick kiss.

"Nope!" Daisy echoed, making both her parents laugh.


	9. Joy to the World

**A/N: Thanks to everyone whose been reading and/or reviewing! I gotta warn you...this oneshot is basically complete sugary, sappy fluff. Well, it doesn't really start off that way, but it definitely ends up that way. Had a hard time picking the song for it, but finally went with _Joy to the World_. Kinda random, but it kinda fits. Not my best, I don't think, but I wanted to do a super fluffy/partly cheesy one now because things are about to get a little intense. The next one, which I'm going to attempt to post within a few hours (key word there? attempt), is actually the first part of a twoshot, using the same song for both. It's going to be sad, a little heartbreaking and dramatic, so be warned. But...in the meantime...hope you enjoy this sugary heap of (mostly) fluff. :)**

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Ryan was in a rotten mood. He wasn't sure why he'd felt so edge lately, but for whatever reason, he'd been running on a short fuse all week. He'd gotten into arguments with both Kelsi and Sharpay which had resulted in him leaving his parents house for a while to get some fresh air. He'd walked around his old neighborhood for a while before making his way back home...but looking up at the impressive house that belonged to his parents, he decided he didn't feel like going inside just yet. So he'd gotten in one of the family cars and driven to the mall. He'd still had some shopping to do, after all, and now seemed like the perfect time to do it since he was so reluctant to go back to his family.

Of course, going to the mall had quickly proven to be a mistake. It was just a couple of days before Christmas and the mall was packed. Lines were long and people were grumpy and rude. The trip had only made his bad mood worse. He'd forced himself to finish shopping and then hopped back in the car to drive home. The traffic had been so bad that it took him twice as long to make it back into his neighborhood and by the time he'd parked and was making his way up to the front door, he was just about ready to kill.

He rushed upstairs to the room he was sharing with his wife to drop off his bags before heading back downstairs to the family room to flop down onto one of the couches. He summoned up a smile for Daisy, who was sitting on the floor playing with some toys. His baby was now a little over two and half years old and it seemed as if her vocabulary had grown tenfold. She still had some work to do before she completely mastered the art of talking, but she seemed to pick up new words all the time. His smile, which had started off mostly forced, softened as he studied his daughter, seeing both himself and his wife in her face. It was something he'd noticed often, but it never failed to take his breath away.

In a lot of ways, Daisy was a smaller version of her mother. She had Kelsi's smile and nose and beautiful blue eyes that were nearly identical to her mother's in every way except for one: their shade. Whereas Kelsi's eyes were a brighter and deeper shade of blue, Daisy's were lighter – the same shade of blue as her father's. She had also inherited her father's hair color, though she had her mother's curls. As far as Ryan was concerned, she looked like a little angel. An angel who was currently studying her father as intently as he was studying her.

Daisy got to her feet and walked over to him. "Daddy?" she asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he responded.

"Why are you grouchy?" she surprised him by asking.

"What? Why do you think I'm grouchy?" he wanted to know, leaning forward as he asked.

"'Cause you got mad at Mommy and Aunt Sharpay," she answered, frowning at him. "And left without saying bye. It's Christmas...why are you mad?" Her frown turned into a pout. "I don't like when you're grouchy."

"I'm not..." he began, intending to defend himself but being unable to. "I'm sorry, Daisy. You're right. I've been grouchy."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know, honey. It doesn't feel like Christmas..." he said slowly.

"I can help," she informed him, darting out of the room before he could respond. She returned a minute later. "Here Daddy," she announced, holding up a chocolate chip cookie.

"For me?" he asked, smiling at her. "But these are your Uncle Zeke's famous chocolate chip cookies. I know they're your favorite."

"You're my Daddy," she retorted. "I want you to be happy," she added, her sweet voice innocent as she gazed up at him. Ryan ran his hand through her curls, once more feeling his heart swell with love for his precious little girl. Ryan felt his grumpiness melt away as he studied her, still holding up the cookie in offering.

"Come here," he said softly, leaning down to pick her up and settle her on his lap. "I love you, sweetheart, and I'm sorry I've been so grumpy. I'll try to stay happy from now on, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, giving him a sweet smile. "I love you, Daddy." He softly kissed her forehead before taking the cookie, breaking it into two pieces.

"You know what, Daisy? You were so sweet to come and offer me this cookie and I love you so much that I think we should share it," he told her, handing her the larger of the two pieces.

"Daddy?" she asked after finishing her half.

"Yes?"

"Make up with Mommy," she ordered. "She doesn't like when you're grouchy either."

"Good idea," he agreed.

"Oh there you are, Daisy." Ryan and Daisy looked up at the sound of Kelsi's voice. "Uncle Zeke is looking for you." Her gaze drifted to Ryan and her expression cooled ever so slightly. "Oh, so you're back. Finally. Were you going to tell any of us you'd returned?"

"Don't be grouchy, Mommy," Daisy cut in. "Daddy said he'd be happy now." She climbed off his lap, looking back and forth between her parents. "Make up. No more fighting, okay?"

"Go find your Uncle Zeke," Kelsi said softly, feeling guilty for getting an attitude with Ryan in front of their daughter. She watched Daisy scamper out of the room before narrowing her eyes at Ryan. "I'm going to see if your mom needs any help," she said coldly. He jumped to his feet and grabbed her hand before she could leave.

"Oh no, you don't. You heard our baby," he smirked, tugging her out of the family room and through the foyer.

"I'm still mad at you," she informed him, jerking her hand out of his grip as he came to a stop in one of the doorways. "You've had an attitude all week and you pick that stupid fight with me this morning and then you just-," She broke off as Ryan wrapped one arm around her waist and pressed his other hand to the back of her head, yanking her closer so he could crush his lips against hers.

"You're right," he murmured, pulling back just long enough to speak before leaning in and kissing her again. "I've been a jerk all week and I'm sorry." He gave her his most charming smile. "Still mad at me?"

"Oh, what?" she asked, somewhat breathlessly. "You think you can just pull me over here and kiss me and all of a sudden everything is back to normal? I don't think so, buddy. You really ticked me off."

"Hmm...guess I have to try harder this time," he nodded, bringing his lips to hers in another kiss. This time he added more passion to his kiss, gently pushing her backwards until she was pressed up against the doorway as the kiss deepened. She wrapped her arms around him and held on, finding herself getting completely lost in his kiss. "I really am sorry," he said softly as the kiss ended. He rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathing heavily.

"I think I've just been getting so burnt out on all the hassles of the holiday that I forgot what it was about. I should be caring less about what goes on out there," he went on, gesturing towards the front of the house with hand. "And spend more time being thankful for all of the wonderful blessings in my life. Like my family and my friends. Like our beautiful little girl." He brought his hand to her cheek. "And my beautiful wife who loves me even when I act like a jerk." When she didn't respond, he gave her his puppy dog face. "You do still love me, right?" he asked jokingly.

"Of course, I do," she said softly, smiling at him. "Even when you act like a jerk."

"Well, I'm not going to act like that anymore," he declared. "I'm going to be thankful and happy and hopeful from here on out."

"You better be," she warned him, her expression teasing.

"Okay...now that that's settled...should we go see if anyone needs any help with dinner?" he asked.

"We could," she said slowly, glancing upwards and smiling again as she noticed the sprig of mistletoe that was hanging in the door frame. "Or..." He followed her gaze, a smirk on his face when his eyes met hers again. "You know, Christmas is about joy and miracles and blessings and all that wonderful stuff, but it's also a time for traditions," she said seriously. "And kissing under the mistletoe is a pretty important one, I think. We wouldn't wanna mess with tradition, now would we?"

"We certainly would not," he agreed. "Even if we did all ready partake in this particular tradition."

"Not intentionally," she pointed out. "You were trying to end our fight and I didn't realize it was there. If you ask me, we should try again...you know...for the sake of tradition, this time. Don't you think?"

"I do," he nodded. "I love you, you know that?"

"I do," she replied, surprising him by pushing him back and shoving him against the other side of the door frame. "I love you too." She initiated the kiss this time, kissing him hungrily. He held her close, letting her lean against him as the kiss continued and feeling lightheaded when they pulled apart for some much needed air.

"Geez, woman," he muttered, an expression of mild shock on his face.

"Hey, you shouldn't kiss me like that were unless you're prepared to deal with the consequences," she quipped, making him laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind," he assured her, about to lean in for another kiss when he heard someone calling them for dinner. "Timing," he sighed, unable to resist giving her a quick kiss before letting her pull away.

"We're finishing this later," she decided. "At least we will if I have anything to say about it."

"We will," he agreed, grabbing her hand. He led her into the dining room, both of them smiling as they moved to take their seats on either side of Daisy, who was all ready seated at the table waiting for them.

"Did you make up?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, we did, honey," Kelsi smiled, kissing the top of her baby's head before taking her seat.

"Good," Daisy replied, beaming at her mother before turning her attention to Ryan. "Are you happy now, Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart," he smiled at her. "I'm very happy."


	10. The Christmas Hope: Part 1

**A/N: Not quite as fast an update as I was hoping, but still pretty good. :) This is super long (18 pages in word) so I'll try & keep this short. This two-shot features the angels from TbaA again, so will obviously feature a lot of God/angel stuff, and may seem like an odd one for me to include in a series of Christmas one-shots. It's pretty sad & I don't think there's a part in this that's not difficult to read in some way. ****The idea was inspired by the song _The Christmas Hope_ by NewSong & an episode of TbaA. The song more so. It's about a woman who is going through a tough time at Christmas, so tough that she doesn't even want the holiday to come. She's wondering "if all hope is gone" and that's the position that Ryan finds himself in here. Things look pretty bleak throughout this, but as the song reminds us, there is _always _hope to be found. So keep that in mind & trust me. This might be one of my favorites of this series, even though parts of this made me cry when I wrote it. I'll try to get the second part up later today, if possible. Hope you like it! Though you might wanna grab a few tissues...let me know what ya think.**

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**_Seven days before Christmas..._

Ryan felt like his world as he knew it was crashing down on him and making it hard for him to breathe. Everything had been going so well. Kelsi and Ryan had decided to move back to Albuquerque for a few years, temporarily leaving behind their life in New York City. It hadn't been an easy decision to make, but they both knew it was the right one. Daisy was now a little more than three and a half years old and Ryan and Kelsi had recently decided that she would be ready to start preschool the following September. Meanwhile, Ryan and Kelsi had been putting in their dues, still trying to make it on Broadway in their respective fields. They'd gotten involved with some shows, but it had been harder to break into the business than either one of them had anticipated. They were both on the verge of burn out and had decided that they needed to take a break from the cut throat nature of the city.

Of course, they still needed to make a living. Or to be more precise, they still _wanted_ to make a living for themselves. It would have been pretty easy for them to live off of the Evans fortune, but that idea didn't appeal to either one of them. It all came down to pride. Kelsi didn't want to feel like she was taking advantage of her in-laws by living off their money, even though she knew that Vance and Derby loved her as if she was one of their own. For Ryan, it was more that he wanted to see if he could provide for his family on his own. So when Derby had called to inform them that one of the local theaters was in need of a new music director and choreographer, they'd jumped on the opportunity.

It seemed like an ideal situation. They could both still work in their chosen fields, but on a much less stressful level. It would also provide them with a steady income so they could support themselves and Daisy. Working in Albuquerque for the time being also meant that they got to spend more time with their families, something that had suddenly seemed more important at this particular time of their lives. What with Daisy slowly transitioning from toddler to little kid and having another baby on the way. They'd moved back to Albuquerque at the end of Kelsi's first trimester of pregnancy, wanting to be settled by the time the baby came in January. Living in Albuquerque ensured that they would have plenty of people to help out as Kelsi and Ryan figured out how to be parents to two young children. They would probably move back to New York once their second child was ready for elementary school, but for the next few years Albuquerque was home.

Yes, everything had been going almost perfectly, minus the normal ups and downs that everyone went through. It was a week before Christmas and the baby was due to arrive sometime in the beginning of January. Kelsi had managed to keep working at the theater until the beginning of December, opting to take the rest of her pregnancy off. The day had started off just like any other day. Ryan had left Kelsi and Daisy in the capable hands of her mother and Derby while he took care of some errands. It was getting harder and harder for Kelsi to get around and she couldn't stand to stay on her feet for terribly long, often needing to sit down and rest. Ryan had opted to take care of any shopping that needed to be done. Sometimes he'd bring Daisy with him, but sometimes it was easier to go along, particularly if he had a lot to get done. Today was one of those days, so he'd decided to leave Daisy with her mom and grandmothers, knowing they'd all enjoy their afternoon together.

It'd just been like any other day…but then he'd gotten the phone call. He'd been in the grocery store, filling up the cart with everything they needed when his phone rang. It had been Derby, sounding more frantic than he'd ever heard her. Apparently Kelsi had started having stomach cramps after he'd left, cramps that had quickly turned into shooting pains. They'd called 911 and in the time it took for the ambulance to arrive, Kelsi had begun to feel a strange wetness along with the pains. They'd all been horrified to realize that it was blood. Karen had gone in the ambulance with Kelsi and Derby had stayed behind to take care of Daisy, who Ryan had heard wailing in the background.

He'd made it to hospital in record time, amazed that he hadn't gotten into an accident on the way. Everything from that point on had seemed to happen in slow motion, at least as far as Ryan was concerned. He could vaguely remember finding a frantic Karen and Keith Nielson, along with Vance, in the waiting room. His memories of talking to the doctor were fuzzy at best, but now, as he sat down beside his father, the pieces were starting to come together.

Kelsi had suffered a placental abruption, the doctor had told them. That meant that the placenta had peeled away from the uterus, which was why Kelsi was bleeding so much. It also meant that the baby wasn't getting any oxygen. Ryan remembered having a piece of paper shoved at him that would give them permission to perform an emergency C-section. It was imperative that they get the baby out, the doctor explained. Ryan had signed without hesitation, though it was a wonder he'd been able to get his hand to stop shaking long enough to do it. They would do everything they could; the doctor had informed them before rushing back into the emergency room.

Ryan had no idea how much time had passed since then...he was too busy reminding himself to keep breathing. Both Kelsi and their second child were in danger and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing, that is, except wait and pray that Kelsi and their baby survived. "Ryan!" He barely found the strength to lift his head at the sound of Sharpay's voice. "We just dropped Joey off at Troy and Gabriella's," she explained to the group at large. Joseph Baylor, more commonly known as Joey, was Sharpay and Zeke's two year old son. Sharpay sank down into the chair on Ryan's other side and it was at that point that Ryan realized that Zeke and Derby were with her. "How are they?"

"I don't know," Ryan mumbled. "They haven't said..."

"Kelsi had a placental abruption," Vance explained quietly, pausing when Sharpay and Zeke gasped. Derby, for her part, seemed frozen in fear. "They had to do an emergency C-section..." He shrugged helplessly. "We haven't heard anything else."

"What's taking them so long?" Karen demanded tearfully. "That's my baby in there."

"Are you okay, Ry?" Sharpay asked softly.

"My wife and baby are in there..." he managed. "I don't...I can't..." He shook his head as he lifted his eyes to meet Sharpay's. "What if I lose them, Shar?" he whispered.

"You won't," Sharpay said quickly.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Because Kelsi's strong," Zeke answered for her. "Kelsi's strong and she won't give up without a fight. And that baby of yours is an Evans." He gave them a sad smile. "And we all know how strong they tend to be."

"It's a girl," Ryan announced, though his voice was somber. "We found out a while ago, but we wanted it to be a surprise...We were going to tell you all on Christmas..." he trailed off as his voice broke. "It's another girl..." Ryan looked up at his mother as something occurred to him. "Daisy...where's Daisy?" he asked. He had just remembered that Derby had been staying with Daisy when she'd called, but now his mother had come with Zeke and Sharpay and Daisy was nowhere to be found.

"We dropped her off at Troy and Gabriella's with Joey," Derby answered.

"Is she okay?" Ryan asked.

"She's..." Derby trailed off, glancing at Zeke.

"Zeke?" Ryan asked, working his way to his feet as a new wave of concern washed over him. "How's Daisy?"

"She was asleep when we dropped her off," Zeke told him. "She...she's been very upset ever since Kelsi had to go to the hospital..."

"I got her out of the room," Derby interjected. "When Kelsi started having pains...I had one of the maids stay with her so she wouldn't have to see Kelsi suffering so much, but...well..."

"We couldn't get her out right away," Karen said softly. "Kelsi tried so hard to keep her pain from her, but...but Daisy knew something was wrong. She probably heard Kelsi screaming...she tried so hard not too...but the pain got to bad, she couldn't..." she trailed off, hating the fresh pain on her son-in-law's face.

"You heard her when I called," Derby continued sadly. "She was screaming and crying for you and Kelsi and eventually cried herself to sleep..."

"But she's in good hands," Sharpay cut in. "Troy and Gabriella will take great care of her."

"Dammit." Ryan stormed a few steps away from the group and kicked at an empty chair without warning, making most of them jump. "Dammit!" he yelled, not caring about the odd looks he was getting from other people in the waiting room. There were so many intense emotions swirling around inside Ryan's body that he could hardly think. Right now, anger seemed like the safest, so he went with it, kicking the chair once more. "Kelsi had a placental abruption and lost who knows how much blood. They had to do an emergency C-section to save our baby's life. We have no idea how either of them or doing and now Daisy..." His face twisted in agony as he continued. "Daisy is upset and scared and confused...and there's nothing I can do for any of them! All of my girls need me and I can't help any of them. Dammit!"

"Ducky." Derby stepped over to him cautiously, gently lifting her hand to stroke his hair. That was the breaking point for Ryan. All of the anger melted off of him in droves, to be replaced by an incontrollable fear. He was a grown man with a family, but at that moment, he may as well of been about five years old. He let Derby pull him into her arms as he broke down. Vance joined them a few seconds later, wrapping an arm around each of them. Sharpay was next...followed by Karen...and Zeke...and Keith, all of them forming a protective circle around Ryan.

It was Keith who first spotted the doctor. He cleared his throat, nudging the people on either side of him and the group broke apart. "I'm sorry to interrupt," the doctor said, an apologetic look on his face.

"How are they?" Ryan asked, his voice ragged. He clutched onto his parents while the doctor told them that they had gotten and baby out and that she'd been taken to the neonatal intensive care unit for supervision. The doctor went on to say that she was four and half pounds, which was smaller than they liked. Kelsi had been in her thirty-sixth week of pregnancy and the doctor told them that that was a good thing – that meant that the odds were pretty good that their baby would survive. He assured them that the neonatal intensive care unit, or the NICU for short, was among the best in the state and that their baby would receive the best care possible.

Ryan took a moment to exhale in temporary relief. His daughter was by no means out of the woods yet, but the doctor seemed hopeful. For the moment, it was the best case scenario as far as Ryan was concerned, given the circumstances. The doctor proceeded to ask if they had a name picked out for her and Ryan barely managed to nod. "Yeah, um Kelsi..." Ryan's voice broke on his wife's name and he took a second to compose himself. "Kelsi wanted her to be named Lucy...so, yeah...her name's Lucy." He gave Derby a sad smile, his eyes shining with tears. "It means 'light'. Kelsi liked that..."

"Lucy Evans," Derby nodded, her own eyes shimmering with fresh tears. "It's beautiful."

"What...what about my wife?" Ryan managed. His grip on his parents tightened as the doctor's tone changed, going from mostly hopeful to solemn. Kelsi had lost a lot of blood, the doctor explained. So much so that they'd needed to give her an emergency blood transfusion. Ryan nodded...he vaguely remembered signing some sort of consent form about that when he'd signed the one about the C-section. Kelsi's condition was critical, the doctor informed them, due to the fact that she'd lost so much blood. She had been moved to the intensive care unit and the next couple of days were crucial. Ryan tightened his grip on his parents to the point of pain, struggling to keep standing while the doctor finished. His head was swimming as the doctor finally walked away to give them some privacy. He lifted his gaze to meet his father's.

"How am I going to get through this, Dad?" Ryan's voice was laced with an almost crippling pain as he asked. Vance didn't respond right away, working to clear away the lump in his throat so he could speak.

"One step at a time, Son," Vance replied finally. "One step at a time."

* * *

Ryan took a deep breath as he stepped into the NICU. His eyes widened as he looked around, looking from one incubator to another. There were all sorts of machines and babies of varying sizes. He stepped aside to make room for another parent, watching as they headed over to a sink to wash their hands before going to one of the incubators. Ryan followed suit and washed his hands, willing himself to keep it together as he finished and slowly turned around. He was just wondering if he should start making his way around the NICU when a voice coming from beside him made him jump.

"You look like a deer caught in headlights," the voice said. "I know this must be a little overwhelming for you, but there's nothing to be afraid of." Ryan looked over to see an older slightly overweight woman with light brown skin smiling at him. She had a motherly vibe about her that made him feel more comfortable, though he wasn't sure why.

"I've...I've never been in here before," he admitted. "It's...it's a lot to take in and it's...it's been a rough day. My wife had a placental abruption and they had to do an emergency C-section..."

"Ah," she nodded, a knowing look on her face. "You must be Lucy's father. Lucy Evans."

"Yes," Ryan confirmed. "I'm Ryan Evans."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Evans," she smiled.

"Ryan...please call me Ryan," he said politely. "Mr. Evans makes me think of my dad."

"Okay, then," she agreed. "Ryan it is. I'm Tess and I'm Lucy's primary nurse. Would you like to meet your daughter?"

"Y-yes," he managed, feeling his throat suddenly go dry.

"Right this way," she instructed. He gulped as he followed her to one of the incubators on the far end of the room. He could read his daughter's name before he could see her and now his steps slowed. "Hi Lucy." He jumped as Tess spoke, cooing to the baby he still couldn't see. "Guess what? Your daddy has come to meet you." At that she looked up at Ryan, giving him an encouraging smile as he inched his way forward. He peered into the incubator, swallowing a mouthful of air as he took in the site of his baby...looking so small and so completely helpless. She was hooked up to all sorts of monitors and Ryan found himself blinking back tears. Once again, he was reminded of the fact that his baby was in jeopardy and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You'll have to wait a little while before you can hold her," Tess said softly. "But you can touch her." She gestured to some holes in the plastic of the incubator.

"She's so small," he whispered. "And fragile..."

"She is small," Tess agreed. "And she does look fragile, but you know what I think? I think she's a lot stronger than she looks. Don't be scared of her...she needs you."

"What can I do?" he asked brokenly. "I feel so helpless."

"Feeling helpless isn't the same thing as _being_ helpless," she said wisely. "There's a lot you can do for her. You can talk to her and let her know that her daddy is here for her. You can tell her how much you love her."

"I don't know where to start," he admitted.

"You start by saying hello and then you go wherever your heart tells you to," Tess advised. "Go on...introduce yourself."

"H-hi Lucy," Ryan said quietly, forcing himself to step closer. "It's Daddy...I...it's nice to meet you...I wish it wasn't like this, but..." he trailed off. "I want you to know something...your mommy and I..." Ryan broke off again, struggling to continue. "Your mommy and I love you very, very much. Now...Mommy won't be able to come see you for a while, but...but I'm here. Sometimes...sometimes I might have to leave to go see Mommy and to let you get some rest, but...but I won't be too far from you and I'll come see you whenever I can..." He hesitantly stuck his hands into the holes, pausing for a moment before he began stroking her, keeping his touch whisper soft in fear of hurting her.

"There you go." Tess gave him a nod of approval. "You're doing great."

"Now, listen...this is really important," he continued, working to keep his voice as soothing as possible. "I want you to do something for me...for me and for Mommy and for your big sister, Daisy, and for everyone else who loves you...I want you to fight. I k-know you're small and...and I know it won't be easy for you, but...I want you to fight. Okay, little one? Can...can you do that for Daddy?" He gently stroked one of her tiny hands and felt his breath catch as she grasped onto one of his fingers. He pulled his other hand out of the incubator to bring it to his face, using his fist to swipe away his tears. It may have been a coincidence that she would manage to grab onto one of his fingers right after he'd asked if she could fight for him, but Ryan preferred to believe that his little daughter had heard his request and was letting him know that she would, indeed, fight. He closed his eyes and prayed that it might be so.

* * *

Ryan couldn't help feeling as if he'd suddenly aged ten years when he walked out on to NICU. He'd stayed in there for a while, talking to Lucy and talking to Tess about Lucy. He hadn't wanted to leave his baby, but Tess had assured him that she would take good care of her. Something about the way she'd said it made him believe that he could trust her to do just that. Being able to trust her was a good thing, he decided, especially considering that it'd given him the confidence to leave. He needed to check in with his family and see if any of them could advise him on how he should proceed.

It felt like an impossible situation, he decided as he made his way back to the waiting room. He had his baby in the NICU and his wife in the ICU and both of them needed him. There was also Daisy to attend to, he realized. He felt like he had to stay at the hospital with Kelsi and Lucy, but he didn't want Daisy in this kind of environment. It was better that she stay with Troy and Gabriella for now, in his opinion. Daisy had been traumatized enough as it was. He winced as he recalled the way he'd heard Daisy wailing in the background before. Out of the four members of their family, it was quite possible that Daisy would end up suffering the most, he thought sadly. She was old enough to know that something bad had happened, but too young to be able to understand any of it.

He opened the doors to the waiting room and felt his eyes widen in surprise. He'd expected to see his parents and Zeke and Sharpay waiting for him, but he hadn't expected to see most of the other former Wildcats – all but Troy and Gabriella, but he knew that was only because they were taking care of Daisy. Keith and Karen weren't anywhere to be found and Ryan could only assume that they were with Kelsi. He felt himself choke up as he made his way closer to the group, touched that they'd all shown up.

"Ryan." Martha was the first to speak, quickly getting to her feet and walking over to give him a hug. "How are you holding up?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed." He cleared his throat as he looked at the rest of the group. "I...I can't believe you all came." He paused as he thought about it, his eyes moving from one face to the next. "Actually...on second thought...no I'm not."

"Of course not." Chad gave him a small smile. "We Wildcats gotta stick together, ya know?"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded. "I, uh...I really appreciate..." He broke off, unable to finish. He shook his head, tears flowing freely down his face as they all got up and formed a circle around him.

"How's...how's my niece?" Sharpay asked, her voice teary.

"Small...small and fragile and...and beautiful..." Ryan said quietly. "She's beautiful, Shar...I know that may be an odd thing to say given the circumstances, but..."

"She's your little girl," Sharpay interrupted. "Yours and Kelsi's...of course she's beautiful."

"Any update on Kelsi?" Ryan asked, though he couldn't help feeling like the worst husband in the world for not knowing the answer himself.

"There hasn't been any change," Vance answered.

"So...she's not any better," Ryan sighed.

"She's not any worse either," Taylor pointed out. "That's a good thing...I mean, I know it doesn't feel that way, but at least she's stable..."

"Yeah...that's true," Ryan nodded. "Okay...okay..." He looked up at his parents and his friends. "I...I need help...I don't...I don't know what I'm supposed to do...all of my girls need me and I just...I need to see Kelsi, but Daisy..."

"Call and check up on Daisy first," Taylor suggested. "Then go see Kelsi. This way, you definitely get to talk to Daisy and then you can spend as much time with Kelsi as you want without worrying about it. Otherwise, you might lose track of time and risk having Daisy be asleep by the time you call."

"That...makes sense," Ryan nodded slowly. "I'm gonna call her...are you guys..." he trailed off, unsure how to finish the question.

"None of us are going anywhere anytime soon," Zeke informed him. "Go call your daughter."

"Okay," he nodded again. "I think I'm going to go outside to call...get some fresh air..." He gave them a small, weak smile before easing his way away from them to head outside. The cold air was a much needed jolt to his system, he was surprised to find out. It made him feel significantly more alert. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and thumbed through his list of contacts until he got to Troy and Gabriella. He held his breath as the phone rang, hoping he'd be able to come up with the right words when he talked to his little girl. Troy answered the phone and they chatted for a couple of minutes. Troy asked how everyone was doing and told him how worried he and Gabriella were about all of them. Ryan answered the questions as well as he could, thanking Troy for watching Daisy.

Ryan found himself holding his breath again as Troy had Gabriella bring Daisy to the phone. "Daddy?" Ryan closed his eyes at the sound of his precious little girl's voice, instantly feeling the sting of fresh tears. She sounded so scared and worried that it just about broke his heart.

"Hi sweetheart, yes, it's Daddy," he replied softly, struggling to keep his voice calm so as not to alarm his daughter any further.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed before he could continue. "Daddy, where are you?" she demanded, her voice teary now. "Where's Mommy? When are you coming to get me?" Each question hit him like a dagger straight to the heart and it only got worse. He tried to explain what was going on in a way she'd understand and that wouldn't make her more scared. But she'd just grown more and more upset, her tears falling faster and harder as she begged him to come get her.

"Honey...sweetheart, listen to me...please...please calm down and listen to me. I...I need you to be a big girl for me, okay? I need you to be a good girl for Uncle Troy and Aunt Gabriella...I wish I could come get you, sweetheart, I really, _really_, do, but...but Mommy needs me," he tried, though he couldn't help feeling like the worst father in the world in the process.

"I want to go home!" she wailed, effectively cutting him off while pounding his heart into little, tiny pieces at the same time. "I want you and Mommy to come get me!"

"Baby, Mommy's not feeling very well right now...She has to stay here so the doctors can make her better again," he tried again. "It's really, really important, sweetheart..."

"Then you come get me," she cried. "Please Daddy?"

"I'll come get you as soon as I can, I promise," he assured her. "I'll call you every day, okay, sweetheart? I'll call and check up on you a lot, but I really, really need you to be a big girl...please...can you do that for me? Please, baby?" It took every ounce of willpower he had not to hop in his car and go to her. "Mommy and I love you so, so, so much, sweetheart. You know that, right?"

"I miss you, Daddy," she sniffled in response.

"I miss you too, Daisy," he said softly, leaning back against the building and looking up at the sky. "Are you near a window, honey?" he asked, feeling oddly inspired.

"Y-yes," she answered.

"Okay...go to it and look outside," he instructed. "Look at the sky. Do you see the moon?" There was a pause, minus the sound of her sniffling. "Can you see it?" It was approaching dinnertime and it was all ready mostly dark outside.

"Y-yes," she repeated.

"I can see it too," he told her. "I know you're scared and don't understand what's going on right now. I know you want me and Mommy and I know you miss us. I know I'm missing you like crazy and I know that it's hard. But see? We might not be together, but we're looking at the same thing. I know it feels like I'm really far away from you, but it's not that far." He paused. "How about I call you every night we're here and we can look up at the moon at the same time, like we are now? So we can still do something together, even if we're not in the same place. Maybe it'll make it feel like we're closer. How does that sound?"

"G-good," she answered, tearfully.

"And anytime you're really missing me or want to talk to me, I want you to have Uncle Troy or Aunt Gabriella call me, okay?"

"O-okay, Daddy," she replied, tearfully.

"Can you be a big girl for me and be good for Uncle Troy and Aunt Gabriella?" he asked.

"Y-yes," she promised. "I'll be good."

"That's my girl. I love you, sweetheart. So, so, so very much. I can't even begin to tell you how much," he managed.

"I l-love you, too, Daddy," she said quietly, her tears seeming to gain in strength again as she must have realized that their call was wrapping up.

"I have to go see Mommy now, okay? I'll give her a kiss for you, okay, honey?" He paused, willing the words to come. "You know Mommy loves you too, right? Very, very, very much."

"Don't go," she pleaded and Ryan closed his eyes, wondering just how many times his heart would break before this ordeal was over.

"I'll call you tomorrow, bright and early, I promise. It's okay, sweetheart, everything is going to be okay, I promise. Okay? I love you, Daisy. Don't forget that...don't ever forget that," he said gently, struggling to find the strength to tell her to get Troy.

"Hey," Troy came back on the line a second later.

"Hey, um...do you...do you guys have any of the old Christmas shows on DVD?" Ryan asked, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"Sure," Troy answered, sounding a little confused by the question.

"Do...do you have Frosty?" Ryan wanted to know. "It's...it's Daisy's favorite...maybe it'll help to put it on for her."

"Okay," Troy said softly. He must have been able to hear Ryan crying, but he didn't comment and for that Ryan was grateful.

"I really appreciate you guys watching her," Ryan managed.

"No problem," Troy said softly. "If there's anything else we can do, don't hesitate to call. I mean it."

"Thank you," Ryan replied. "Take good care of my little girl for me, okay?"

"We will," Troy promised. "Tell..." He broke off and Ryan was astonished to realize that he was struggling to speak. "Tell Playmaker we love her, okay?"

"I will," Ryan responded. He thanked Troy again, telling him that he'd call back with a number where he could be reached at the hospital in case Daisy needed him before wrapping up the call. Ryan took a few deep breaths. He had visited his baby and he'd called Daisy...now he had to go see his wife.

* * *

Ryan paused to speak to his friends briefly before heading to Kelsi's room, nearly running into Keith, who was on his way out. "How is she?" Ryan asked.

"The same," Keith answered sadly. "She needs you."

"I know..." Ryan sighed. "I had to see Lucy and I had to call Daisy..."

"I know," Keith cut in gently. "Listen Ryan, you have always taken wonderful care of my little girl and my granddaughter. Karen and I love you like you were our own son. You have a lot on your plate right now and I want you to know that you don't have to deal with it all by yourself. We're here to help. There's a lot of people here to help. I know you wish you could be in three places at once, but you can't. You can only take care of one of your girls at a time. But that's where we come in. You're not alone."

"Thank you," Ryan said softly. Keith have him an encouraging pat on the shoulder and then Ryan slowly entered the room. There was his wife, looking so small and helpless in her hospital bed...reminding him of their daughter lying in her incubator. Karen was sitting next to her, holding her hand and talking to her quietly. She looked up as Ryan entered and slowly got to her feet, pausing to kiss her daughter's forehead before walking to Ryan and giving him a hug.

"How are the girls?" Karen asked.

"Lucy's...small, but...but I think she's strong..." He nodded to Kelsi. "Like her mother and Daisy..." His face twisted in pain. "Daisy's having a really hard time with this. I tried to help, but..." He broke off for a moment. "Troy and Gabriella will take good care of her."

"I'm sure they will," Karen nodded, giving him a sad smile. "Well...I'll give you some privacy. I know it looks bad," she began, looking back at her daughter, "but Kelsi's in there somewhere. Just talk to her. It'll help." Ryan nodded, letting her pass before making his way to the side of Kelsi's bed. "You know, for someone who hates being the center of attention, you're sure putting on quite a show," he quipped lamely, struggling to sound normal for her and knowing he was failing miserably.

Ryan gently grabbed her hand with one of his and lifted his other hand to her forehead, smoothing her hair away from her face like he did so often. "You should see our baby, Kelsi. She reminds me of you...she's...she's..." Ryan paused, only halfway surprised to feel his eyes sting with fresh tears. He didn't think he had ever cried so much in his life. He'd thought that talking to Daisy had dried him out, so to speak, for the moment, but apparently he'd been wrong. "Dammit, Kelsi, it wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be this hard. Now you're in danger and our baby is in danger and our sweet little Daisy is terrified and missing us like crazy...I don't know what to do. I just...don't know what to do."

"I'm trying so hard to be strong for all of you, but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up," he admitted. "I'll try...I'll try for all of you, but you need to pull your weight here. I want you to fight. Are you listening to me, Kelsi?" he asked, ignoring the tears streaming down his face. "I want you to fight as hard as you can and I want you to come back to me...come back to me and our girls. We need you, Kelsi...we need you so much. So come on, fight for us." He leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Come back to me, baby," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "I can't do this without you. Come back to me..."

* * *

_Five days later...two days before Christmas..._

Ryan was beginning to feel more like a machine than a man. It was almost as if he was just going through the motions as opposed to really and truly living. He had practically moved into the hospital, using the uncomfortable recliner in Kelsi's room for the few hours in which he tried to sleep. Tried being the operative word. He didn't think he'd gotten any real sleep since this whole nightmare had started. Sure, he'd doze off for a couple of hours every night, but it wasn't the same. The chair was partly to blame, but he doubted he'd be able to sleep even if he'd been in his own comfortable bed. He had too much to worry about, after all.

First there was his wife, whose condition had only improved ever so slightly. She'd improved to the point that the doctors decided she could move from the ICU to a regular hospital room, but she was still in a coma. The doctors thought it was possible that she'd make a full recovery...assuming she ever woke up. That was the main concern there. Ryan grew more worried with every day that passed where she didn't wake up, knowing that the longer she stayed in her coma, the worse her outlook was. But at least she wasn't getting any worse. It was a small victory, but Ryan had learned not to take any victories for granted, however small they may be.

There'd been a few scares with Lucy, but Tess had told him that that was actually normal with premature babies. It wasn't the most comforting thought in the world, especially considering that any one of those scares could end a baby's life. But Tess had reminded him that the important thing to remember was that Lucy had managed to pull through each of them. Ryan had formed a sort of kinship with Tess, finding himself leaning on her for support whenever he felt like he was on the verge of breaking down in the NICU. It only made sense that he'd form a bond with her, he thought. There was a whole team of doctors that looked after his daughter, but Tess was the one that had the most contact with her. She was the first person he'd look for whenever he wanted an update on Lucy's condition.

And the good news was that, other than those few scares, Lucy was actually doing quite well. Tess never wavered in her belief that Lucy would make it and that gave Ryan hope. His daughter seemed a little bit stronger with every day that passed. She'd even improved to the point where Ryan could actually hold her...of course; he'd been utterly terrified that first time. She was still so small and fragile looking – not to mention the fact that she remained hooked up to all those machines. Ryan had been so worried that he'd hurt her in some way, almost scared to breathe in fear that he'd jostle her somehow. But he'd had Derby and Tess with him, talking him through it, and everything had been fine.

He'd held his baby a number of times in the past couple of days and every time it got a little easier. Holding her made him feel like he was genuinely bonding with her, something he hadn't really felt beforehand. It'd been so hard before...sure, he'd talk to her and touch her through the holes in the incubator, but it'd felt like there'd been a wall between them. Not just in regards to the plastic he had to stick his hands through, but emotionally speaking as well. Since he'd begun to hold her, she was finally starting to feel less like a stranger and more like his daughter. Another victory, though he considered this to be a pretty big one.

It had been difficult, but he'd begun to form a routine at the hospital, balancing his time between Kelsi and Lucy as well as he could. He didn't want to spend so much time with one that he neglected the other and the routine helped keep him on track. Being with them made him feel like he was actually doing something and that was a big help. The problem was Daisy...his beautiful little Daisy who hadn't seen either of her parents for days. He was too scared to leave the hospital in case there was an emergency with either Kelsi or Lucy, but that meant that he'd been neglecting Daisy. He'd scheduled in calls to Daisy in his routine, calling her several times a day, but he knew it wasn't the same as being there.

His little girl was heartbroken, he'd realized the day before, the realization breaking his one heart once more. His parents and in-laws, along with all of his friends, had all been making a point to spend time with Daisy, but as much as she loved them, they weren't who she wanted. She wanted her Mommy and Daddy. Ryan often questioned his desire to stay at the hospital, wondering if his fears of an emergency were worth what his being gone was doing to Daisy. She felt abandoned by the two people who claimed to love her more than anything else in the world and Ryan was starting to wonder if she still believed him when he told her he loved her.

Ryan sighed as he hung up the phone after his latest conversation with Daisy, once more feeling as if he was the worst father in the world. He headed to Kelsi's room, a weary smile appearing on his face as he saw that she was not alone. Sharpay, Taylor and Martha were all positioned around the bed, chattering on to each other and Kelsi about who knew what. Sharpay looked up as Ryan yawned, a sympathetic look on her face. "How's Daisy?"

"Am I a bad father?" Ryan asked in response, causing Sharpay to lift her eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "You're a terrific father."

"Am I?" he countered. "To Lucy, maybe I'm a good dad. I go in and check on her all the time...I'm doing my best. But what about Daisy?"

"I think we should continue this conversation outside," Sharpay decided, nodding to Taylor and Martha as she got to her feet. She grabbed Ryan's hand and tugged him out of the room. "Now...to reiterate - you're a terrific father. To _both_ of your daughters."

"Really, Shar?" He let out a humorless chuckle. "You've been around Daisy these past couple of days. You've seen her burst into tears and scream for me and Kelsi." He jerked his thumb towards Kelsi's room. "Kelsi has a good excuse. She's been in a coma all week. But what about me? Huh? I'm not in a coma...my car's still here. There's nothing stopping me from leaving to check on Daisy," he huffed. "Nothing except for myself. What does that say about me, huh?"

"That you love Kelsi and Lucy and want to be here for them," Sharpay answered, alarmed by the look on his face. "This is an impossible situation, Ryan. You've said so yourself. All your girls need you and you're doing the best you can."

"You know what Daisy asked me just now?" Ryan asked. "She asked me why I didn't want to be with her. My little girl, my precious little flower, a child I love more than life itself asked me why I don't want to be with her anymore." Ryan's chin quivered. "Sure, I tried to tell her that that wasn't true. That I _do_ want to be with her, but I can't right now." He shook his head, furious at himself. "How lame is that? Yeah, sure, I love you, sweetheart, but I can't be with you right now. Yes, Daisy, of course I love you, but apparently I love your mommy and sister more because I won't leave them to see you."

"Ryan," Sharpay began.

"Yes, sweetheart, I know it's almost Christmas and I know how much you miss me, but no, I can't come get you. Yes, I know you need me and I'm sorry about that, but Mommy and Lucy need me too," he ranted, hating himself more with every word he spoke.

"Ryan, stop it," Sharpay pleaded, grabbing his shoulders. "Don't do this to yourself."

"It should be me in there," Ryan hissed, nodding to Kelsi's hospital room again. "I should be the one in a coma fighting to wake up, not Kelsi." He swiped his fist across his now wet cheeks. "I wish I could trade places with her. I'd do it in a second. She'd handle this so much better than me. She'd find a way to be there for _all_ of us, including Daisy. No way would she let days go by without seeing her. No way."

"Ryan, come on. You're being way too hard on yourself," she said gently. "Kelsi and Lucy are both fighting for their lives. Of course you want to stay here with them. It doesn't mean you don't love Daisy enough and it doesn't mean you're a bad father. I know Daisy's hurting right now and it breaks my heart because I love that little niece of mine," she continued. "I know it has to be about a million times worse for you because she's your little girl, but I refuse to let you keep doing this to yourself."

"I abandoned my baby," he said quietly. "I haven't seen her since I dropped her and Kelsi off to go shopping. If you ask me, I'm not being hard _enough_ on myself."

"You have not abandoned her," Sharpay argued, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. "You haven't seen her, true, but you also haven't missed a phone call. I've seen you drop everything else you were doing when it's been time for you to call her. You refuse to miss even one of those calls because your baby means that much to you. I know how hard they are for you. I know what it does to you when you hear your little girl crying for you. But you keep calling and you know why? It's because you love Daisy so much." She reached up to smooth out his uncharacteristically messy hair; he hadn't been wearing any hats for the past couple of days, since he'd developed the nervous habit of running his hands through his hair. "It's because you're a good father. You can't do this to yourself, Ryan. You have enough to worry about."

"I don't know how much longer I can go on like this, Shar," he admitted. "It's so hard. I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of a meltdown." He shook his head at her. "When's it gonna get better? Tell me it's going to get better, Shar, because I'm losing it."

"It will get better, Ryan," she said calmly. "And I'm not saying that because you're losing it. I'm saying it because I believe it. As far as when? I'm not sure, but...but maybe it'll be soon. Aren't you always the one saying that Christmas is a time for miracles?"

"It's easier to say that when nothing's going horribly wrong," he pointed out. "But lately...everything seems so bad. It's hard for me to believe in miracles now. I'm not so sure they exist anymore."

"What?" she gaped at him. "Are you kidding? There's miracles all around you. Lucy and Kelsi could've died before the ambulance got to the hospital, but they didn't. Kelsi could've had her abruption earlier in the pregnancy, which would've cut Lucy's odds of survival, but she didn't. The doctors may not have been able to get Lucy out of Kelsi's stomach in time, but they did. Kelsi could've died on the table if they hadn't of given her that emergency blood transfusion, but they did. Lucy's gone through some rough patches since she was born, but she's still fighting and so is Kelsi. So, how can you stand there and tell me that you're not sure that miracles exist? I just listed off a few of them. And whose to say that there's not more of them in store?"

"Maybe you're right," he conceded.

"You can't lose hope, Ry. If you do, they will," Sharpay said gently, nodding towards Kelsi room. She studied him for a moment. "You know what you need? A break. Why don't you go take a walk or something? All your girls are covered for the moment. So, why don't you take a little break? I think it'd do you a lot of good."

"When did you get to be so smart?" he asked.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes playfully, determined to lighten to mood a little. "I've always been this smart. You just haven't been paying attention."

"I've been a little busy lately," he pointed out, though he gave her a small smile. "Thank you for being here, Sharpay. It really means a lot to me."

"Oh, come here," she said, sounding slightly teary as she pulled him in for a hug. "I love you, little brother."

"I love you too, Shar," he replied.

"Okay...enough sappy stuff." She let out a weak chuckle. "Go take a walk."

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Ryan stopped by the NICU to check on Lucy, relieved when Tess told him that she was doing just fine. He promised he'd be back in a little while and she'd just smiled and told him that she had everything under control. It was bitterly cold that day...he'd discovered that during his last call to Daisy. So, he opted to walk around the hospital instead. Maybe not the most scenic walk in the world, but at least it'd give him some time alone to think. To breathe even. Sometimes being with Kelsi or Lucy or talking to Daisy hurt so much that he could barely breathe. Sometimes he had to keep reminding himself to. But now the air seemed to be flowing in and out of him much easier.

He wandered somewhat aimlessly, no specific destination in mind. He had enough to think about these days. As long as he could find his way back to his girls, he didn't care where he went. Or at least he'd thought so until he realized that his mindless wandering had led him to the hospital chapel. Maybe he did have a destination in mind, he thought to himself as he opened the door and slipped inside. It was strange...he had every reason to be mad at God, and a part of him was. He'd done his share of yelling at God, even if it was all in his head. But here...here in the chapel, he couldn't muster up any anger. Instead he found himself gazing up at the cross while tears streamed down his face.

"Are You still here?" he asked quietly. "Are You still with me? Because I don't feel Your presence if you are. I used to feel it...it used to be so easy for me. But then Kelsi had her abruption and...and I try to feel it, but I can't. So...are You still here?" He stepped a little closer to the cross as he spoke. "I can't do this anymore, God. I'm breaking down a little more every day. I feel so alone sometimes..." He trailed off for a moment, surprised that he'd said those words out loud. "Like late at night when I'm trying to sleep or right after I get off the phone with Daisy...when I'm making my way from one of my girls to another and there's no one walking with me...I feel so alone. Alone and useless and scared," he huffed. "I might as well be a little kid again, what with the way I'm feeling..."

"I don't know what to do anymore...I know that You exist and I know that are miracles are real, but...it's so hard. I just...I need a sign. Something to show me that You're still here and that You still care about me and my family. I need a sign...please...I can't do this on my own. I need Your help, so please...if You're listening...send me a sign so I know. Please." His voice was whisper soft as he finished. "Please." He closed his eyes, letting his emotions have free reign for the moment, unable to control them and not wanting to.

"Hello Ryan." His eyes opened at the sound of a lilting Irish voice. A voice that he'd first heard on that cold, rainy night a few Christmases ago. A voice that he had never forgotten, no matter how much time had passed. A voice that belonged to a woman that Ryan and Kelsi believed to be an angel. Ryan gulped as he turned around, feeling his eyes widen at the sight of her. "It's nice to see you again," she smiled at him warmly, though he could see a trace of sadness in her eyes. "I do wish it was under better circumstances, but it's nice to see you all the same."

"Monica," he whispered.


	11. The Christmas Hope: Part 2

**This one is for Lee. **

**A/N: Once again forces I couldn't control kept me from working on this like I wanted to. Though it's kind of interesting that I'd be working on this chapter at this point in my life...kind of ironic. So, okay, this chapter is a little out there, especially the first part. I wanted to pull Kelsi more into the story and thought the scene I came up with was a good way to do it. Heavy on the angel/God stuff in this once. Much like a bunch of my stories, this one kind of took on a life of it's own and so what started out as a oneshot is now becoming a threeshot. They'll be one more Christmas oneshot (a real oneshot, mind) after this wraps up and one for New Years...which will either be a bonus chapter or a stand alone. So, I guess that's good news if you like this little series in a series. Kinda long and sad, but also pretty sweet, I think. Ooh yeah, and Vance's (& the others) surprise may not be very realistic, so just go with it. I figure if there was anyone that could do this, it's the Evans family. ;-) Hope you all like it! Going to get the last part up ASAP. Thanks for reading everyone!  
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* * *

**Kelsi blinked in confusion, trying to figure out where she was. It didn't appear to be anyplace that she could recall having been to before. She was standing in the middle of a field that seemed to go on for forever, no matter which direction she looked. The grass was a vivid shade of green and there were flowers of all sorts of bright colors scattered all over the place. The sky was a bright blue and there wasn't a cloud to be found anywhere. It was a beautiful place, though she couldn't help but think that it was a little surreal too. Everything was too perfect to seem real. It was almost like she was in some sort of dream world and she didn't know how to pull herself out of it.

"Kelsi." She jumped at the sound of her name, spinning around to see who'd said it. Her brow furrowed as she took in the sight of a blond man in a white suit who looked to be somewhere in his thirties.

"Who are you?" she asked. She supposed she should be alarmed to find herself alone in this weird place with a man she'd never seen before, but she wasn't. She wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation, but she wasn't exactly afraid either. If anything, her whereabouts alarmed her more than the man standing in front of her.

"I'm Andrew," he replied warmly. "And I'm an angel sent by God."

"Andrew," she repeated his name, her eyes widening as her mouth fell slightly open. "You mean...are you..."

"One of the angels who saved your husband's life a few Christmases ago?" he asked, filling in the blanks for her. "Yes. I was sent to help him then and now I'm here to help you."

"Where are we?" she asked. "What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" he wanted to know.

"Well...my husband dropped me and our daughter, Daisy, off at my mother-in-law's house for the afternoon while he ran some errands. I started having these weird stomach cramps and my mom made me lie down on the couch," Kelsi recalled. "The cramps weren't too bad at first, but then they got worse. I started to get these shooting pains in my stomach, but I tried to keep them a secret. I didn't want to scare my little girl...but...but she must have sensed that I was in pain..." she trailed off, giving him a small smile. "My baby is very smart for her age...she asked me what was wrong and I tried to tell her that everything was fine, but she didn't believe me. She started getting anxious and my pain started getting worse...my mom called 911 and my mother-in-law got Daisy out of the room..."

"And then what happened?" he asked, his voice soft.

"The pain was so awful," Kelsi winced in memory. "It felt like a dozen knives were stabbing me over and over and over again. I tried so hard not to scream...I didn't want to scare Daisy, but...but the pain was so bad...I couldn't help it...I started to scream..." She gave her head a hard shake. "I started feeling this weird wetness and I heard my mom gasp in horror. I asked her what was wrong and she said I was bleeding...she said there was a lot of blood...I started getting really dizzy...I remember hearing the ambulance pulling up the driveway and I remember being put on a gurney and getting rushed out of the house...I remember getting wheeled into the ambulance and my mom climbing in after me. She was crying by that point...and then...and then everything went dark. The next thing I knew I was here."

Kelsi gulped as she watched him, a strange sort of panic rushing through her. "Did...did I die? Is this heaven?" Another gulp. "Are you the angel of death?"

"Well, yes, I am one of them," he answered slowly. "But that's not my only job. You see, sometimes I'm sent to help people when they die, to lead them to heaven. But sometimes I'm sent to _keep_ them from death or to help them in some other way." He smiled at her, his eyes compassionate. "And to answer your first two questions: no, you didn't die, and no, this isn't heaven."

"Then where are we? What happened to me?" she asked.

"You had a placental abruption," he told her. "The doctors had to perform an emergency C-section because your baby wasn't getting any oxygen and they had to give you an emergency blood transfusion because you lost too much blood."

"How's my baby?" she asked, her concern over her own situation temporarily being pushed aside as fears for her baby's well-being came rushing to the surface.

"She's in the NICU and getting stronger every day," he told her with a smile. "She's a little fighter, your daughter. Your husband named her Lucy," he added.

"Lucy," Kelsi repeated, a genuine smile appearing on her face, albeit briefly. "That's what I wanted to name her...that's probably why Ryan named her that..." A pang of sadness pierced through her at the thought of her husband. The pang reminded her of her current problem and she thought back to what else Andrew had told her. "So...Lucy is in the NICU...and I...I didn't die?"

"No. You're in a coma...or rather; your physical body is in a coma. That's why you're here," he explained. "I guess you could say that you're in a state of limbo. You're not dead, so you're not in heaven, but you're not exactly in the physical world either."

"I...I see," she said slowly, trying to wrap her mind around what he'd just said. "Well, actually, to be perfectly honest I don't...but...but I just don't know how to respond...it's...it's a little confusing."

"I know," he nodded. "It's hard to understand."

"So...so I'm in limbo," she began. "What...what's going to happen to me? Am I going to get to go home to my family or...or are you here to take me to heaven?"

"I don't know yet," he admitted.

"You don't know?" she blinked. "What do you mean you don't know? Or is this one of those things where I have to make to choice? If so...I want to go home! I know heaven is supposed to be wonderful and...and, well, all heavenly and all that good stuff, but...but I don't want to go there yet! I want to go home to my husband and my daughters and my family and my friends! I want to go home..."

"I know that," he said gently. "But it isn't up to you. Not in this case."

"Then...then who _is_ it up to?" she asked. "You?"

"No," he answered. "I don't have a say in who lives and who dies. That responsibility belongs to God. I'm just sent to help."

"So...so it's up to God whether I live or not?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"And what? I'm just supposed to wait here until He decides whether I get to go home or not?" she demanded, getting more and more upset.

"The decision has all ready been made, Kelsi," he told her. "God knows everything and He knows when you're going to die. He just hasn't told me yet."

"When will He?" she asked.

"When He feels that the time is right," Andrew replied quietly.

"So...what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" she wanted to know.

"You wait," he responded.

"I wait?" she sniffled, images of Ryan and Daisy drifting through her head. She found herself struggling to breathe, missing her family so much that it hurt. "That's it? I just sit around and wait?"

"Yes," he said. "But you won't have to wait alone. I'll be here with you the entire time, no matter what happens. Don't be afraid."

* * *

"_Hello Ryan." His eyes opened at the sound of a lilting Irish voice. A voice that he'd first heard on that cold, rainy night a few Christmases ago. A voice that he had never forgotten, no matter how much time had passed. A voice that belonged to a woman that Ryan and Kelsi believed to be an angel. Ryan gulped as he turned around, feeling his eyes widen at the sight of her. "It's nice to see you again," she smiled at him warmly, though he could see a trace of sadness in her eyes. "I do wish it was under better circumstances, but it's nice to see you all the same."_

"_Monica," he whispered. _

"Yes," she nodded.

"Are you...are you an angel?" he asked, amazed that he still had the ability to speak.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed. "God is still listening to you, Ryan, and He does care about you and your family."

"He does?"

"Of course He does," Monica replied. "God always cares about His children."

"Then why did He let this happen?" Ryan demanded, feeling a flash of anger pass through him. "Why is He doing this to my family?"

"I know that it's easy for you to blame God, but what's happening to your family isn't His fault," she said softly, her answer angering him further.

"I thought God knew everything. I thought that nothing happened unless He allowed it to," Ryan said through clenched teeth. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, yes, it is, but," she began.

"Right," he interrupted. "He had the power to stop this from happening, but He didn't, now did He? He didn't do anything! He just let it happen! Now my wife's in a coma and my baby is fighting to stay alive. Do you have any idea what all this is doing to my other daughter? My family is falling apart! And where is God, huh? Where is He when we need Him? Huh? Because I sure as hell can't find Him."

"You've been going through a tough time. I know that and God knows that. Yes, He could have kept it from happening, but He chose not to. So you ask me where He is and why He allowed this to happen. You're not the first person to ask me that and you won't be the last. I think sometimes people assume that believing in God automatically meant that their lives would be easy, but God never said that life was easy," she started, her voice soft and compassionate. "Sometimes people have to go through storms, some worse than others. God never said that the storms wouldn't come and He even went so far as to warn us that they would. Sometimes people get so caught up in the storm that it's hard for them to see anything else. I think that is the heart of your problem right there."

"You've been so caught up in the storm going on around you that you've forgotten all the things you used to believe to be true. Like the fact that God does care about His people and the fact that He does listen to His children when they talk to him. You've forgotten about His mercy and His comfort and that is part of the reason why He sent me to you. To remind you that He is still here and He does still care and He is still God. Even in the middle of this awful storm you're going through. It's like I said, God never promised that storms wouldn't come. But He _did_ promise that He would stay with you when they did."

Monica smiled as she continued. "You asked me where God is. Where was He when your wife had her abruption? Where was He when the doctors had to perform that C-section to save your baby's life? Where was He when they had to give your wife that transfusion because she lost too much blood? Where is He now that your wee daughter, Lucy, and your lovely wife Kelsi are both fighting to stay alive? Where is He now that both you and your other daughter feel abandoned?" She waited a beat before answering her own question. "You want to know where God was? He was there when Kelsi had her abruption and He was there in the ambulance as she was being rushed to the hospital. He was in the emergency room while the doctors worked to save her life. He was with you when you got that phone call in the grocery store and He was with Daisy when they took your wife, her mother, to the hospital."

"You know where God is now?" she asked gently. "He's with Lucy in the NICU and He's with Kelsi in her hospital room. He has not abandoned either one of them and not only did He not abandon them, He gave them both an angel to watch over them. Do you remember Andrew? God sent him to stay with Kelsi while she's in her coma."

"Kelsi's with Andrew?" Ryan asked, his brow furrowing. "Why haven't I seen him?"

"Let's see, how do I explain this," Monica frowned as she thought it over. "Kelsi is in what you'd call limbo. It's a place that exists somewhere between the physical world and heaven and it's a place where a lot of people get sent in certain situations, like this one."

"So...Kelsi is in limbo..." Ryan paraphrased. "Somewhere between here and heaven and...and Andrew is with her?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"How long is he staying with her?"

"Andrew will stay with her the entire time she's there," she answered softly. "He won't leave her side and I can promise you that she's in good hands."

"What...what about Lucy?" Ryan asked. "She...she has an angel, too?"

"Yes, and it's someone that you've come to know very well by now." Monica's smile returned. "She was sent to the NICU to be your daughter's primary nurse and to take care of her when you're not there."

"You mean..." Ryan's eyes widened. "Tess is an angel?"

"One of the best I know," Monica nodded. "So you see? God does care about you and your family and He's never left your side. He's been right here with you waiting for you to reach up and out to Him so He could give the comfort He so desperately wants to give you." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face as she studied him. "I know how hard this has been for you. I know that this storm you're going through is a strong one and I know what a tremendous strain it has put on you and your family, but you know the good things about storms? The rainbows."

"I love rainbows, don't you? Both the physical ones and the figurative ones. A storm never exists without rainbows, at least storms like the one you're going through. You see, there are always good things that exist even in the middle of a storm. There is beauty to be found among all the destruction, rainbows, so to speak. Like the beauty of a family coming together in a time of need to support each other, like yours has," she said softly.

"There are always rainbows to be found even in the worst storms. And you can rest assured, that there is a beautiful rainbow waiting for you once the storm clears." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And the storm _will_ clear. It won't go on forever, even though it probably feels like it will. God would never make you go through a terrible storm like this if there wasn't a beautiful rainbow waiting on the other side of it. You mustn't lose heart, Ryan, and you mustn't give up. God is here with you and He is not going anywhere." She gave him another smile. "And neither am I."

* * *

Sharpay frowned as she studied her niece, knowing how much it would kill Ryan to see her this way. Daisy was curled up on the end of one of the couches in Troy and Gabriella's living room holding on tightly to a light blue and white stuffed penguin. Ryan had given her the penguin when she'd turned two and Daisy had seen fit to name it Frosty, in honor of her beloved Snowman. The penguin was a source of comfort for Daisy and she couldn't go to sleep unless she was holding onto it. It had been the first thing Derby had grabbed when she was packing a bag for Daisy to take to Troy and Gabriella's. According to Gabriella, Daisy hadn't let her penguin out of her sight all week, rarely ever putting it down.

Daisy had been looking out the window, but now she looked away, her little face etched with sadness. She gripped her penguin tighter and rested her head against it, looking like she was about to start crying. That was all it took for Sharpay to get up and head over to her. "Hey little flower," she said gently. "What's the matter?"

"I can't see the moon," Daisy said quietly.

"Oh," Sharpay answered softly, nodding in understanding. "Looking at the moon makes your daddy feel closer, doesn't it?" She waited for Daisy to nod before she continued. "And now you can't see the moon so he feels farther away, huh?" Sharpay exchanged a sad look with Gabriella, who was sitting on the chair closest to the couch.

"Yes," Daisy sniffled.

"Oh sweetheart," Sharpay sighed as she wrapped her arm around her small niece. "I know it feels like your daddy is really, really far away, but he's not. He's closer than it seems."

"But he's not here," Daisy frowned.

"You really miss him, don't you?" Sharpay asked sadly.

"Aunt Sharpay?" Daisy asked, her voice sounding small.

"Yes honey?" Sharpay replied.

"Does Daddy hate me?" Sharpay closed her eyes at the question, feeling the sting of tears. She forced herself to open them and saw that Gabriella was tearing up as well.

"Oh Daisy...your daddy doesn't hate you. Why would you think he does?" Sharpay asked gently.

"Because he's been with Mommy and Lucy, but he won't come see me and he won't let me come to the hospital," Daisy answered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she spoke. "He doesn't want me around."

"Sweetheart, it's not that he doesn't want you around," Gabriella cut in, seeing that Sharpay was struggling to speak. "He does. He really, really does. He just thinks that the hospital might be too scary for you."

"How do you know?" Daisy demanded.

"Daisy, listen to me," Sharpay said, her voice just barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and forced herself to go on. "I want you to listen really carefully." She waited until Daisy looked at her, lifting her hand to gently wipe her niece's tears away. "You know that your daddy is my brother, my twin. We've known each other for our entire lives and no one knows him as well as I do." She paused, a small smile appearing on her face. "Well, maybe your mommy does," she acknowledged, brushing Daisy's curls away from her face. "But yeah...I know him really, really well, so I know that what I'm about to tell you is the truth. Your daddy could never hate you. It's not possible. You mean everything to him, sweetie, and he loves you so much. You have no idea how much he loves you and you have no idea how much he's been missing you."

"Daddy misses me?"

"Oh sweetheart, he misses you like crazy. He misses you so much that it hurts him. Aunt Gabriella's right. It's not that he doesn't want you around. There is no way that he could ever _not_ want you around. It's just that the hospital can be pretty scary sometimes and he doesn't want you to be scared," Sharpay continued.

"But I am scared," Daisy admitted softly. "Mommy's hurt and Lucy's sick and I want to be with Daddy." Sharpay pulled her niece into a hug, suddenly knowing what she had to do. She held on to Daisy for a little while longer and then eased away, kissing the top of her head as she did so. She excused herself and left the room for a few minutes to make an important phone call.

"Hey Ry, it's me," she said quietly once her brother answered. "We have to talk."

* * *

Ryan sighed as he wrapped up his call with his sister. Sharpay had told him about her conversation with Daisy, which had caused yet another piece of his heart to break. He couldn't stand the thought of his little girl assuming he hated her and he hated knowing that it was his fault she felt that way. Sharpay had told him that she thought that Daisy needed to see her father and he'd agreed. The decision had been easier to make than he'd thought possible. Up until this point, he'd been adamant about Daisy not being in the hospital, convinced that it'd be too much for her. But now...now he couldn't bear the thought of yet another day going by without seeing his little girl.

Monica had stayed with him throughout his conversation with Sharpay and now she gave him a smile of encouragement as he called Troy and Gabriella. He studied her as the phone rang; silently marveling over the fact that he was spending time with a genuine angel. He shook his head to himself as Gabriella picked up. They'd chatted for a couple of minutes and then the phone had been passed to Daisy. At first the conversation had followed the same pattern as all of the other ones they'd had on the phone, though Ryan found himself fighting back a smile as he prepared to tell her the good news. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was almost dinner time.

"Okay, sweetheart, I know you're going to be eating dinner soon, so I'm going to have to let you go," he began.

"No!" she protested. "I don't want you to go, Daddy!"

"Well, I don't want to go either, but you're going to have to eat, and then Aunt Gabriella is going to help you with your bath and get you ready for bed," he tried again. "And I want you to make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight because you have a big day tomorrow. Your Grandma and Grandpa Evans are going to be picking you up and taking you back to their house so you can have a wonderful Christmas Eve lunch with them and Grandmom and Granddad Nielson and your Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke and your cousin, Joey. And you know what's going to happen then?"

"No," she answered.

"Your grandparents are going to be bringing you to the hospital," he informed her, smiling when she gasped.

"I get to go to the hospital?" she asked. "I get to see you?" Ryan felt himself choke up as he realized that this was the most upbeat his daughter had sounded all week. The sadness had temporarily disappeared from her voice, to be replaced with excitement.

"Yes, honey, you get to see me," he managed. "There was no way I could let Christmas Eve go by without seeing my little girl."

* * *

_Christmas Eve._

Ryan woke up feeling lighter and more cheerful than he had all week. Knowing that the angels and God were taking care of him and his family had done wonders for his peace of mind and he'd actually been able to get a few hours of restful sleep for the first time all week. He felt alert and refreshed as he got himself ready for the day, taking greater care to make himself as presentable as possible. He'd kind of been slacking in that department all week...how he looked wasn't nearly as important as what was going on with his girls, so he hadn't put forth much effort. But now he wanted to make sure that he looked as normal as possible, taking advantage of the shower in Kelsi's bathroom. His parents had been wonderful about supplying him with clean clothes as he'd needed them and as he stepped out of the bathroom, he felt more like himself than he had in a long time.

He spent a good part of the morning with his wife before heading to the cafeteria to get a quick bite to eat before making his way to the NICU, where he'd been thrilled to learn that Lucy had made it through the night with no problems whatsoever. He'd spent a couple of hours in the NICU with her, using the opportunity to tell his younger daughter about her older sister. He'd often caught Tess watching them and smiling and it never failed to remind him that there were angels everywhere. He'd felt safe leaving Lucy with Tess before, but knowing Tess was an angel had bumped up his confidence in her even more. He'd spent the last several minutes glancing at the clock, eventually feeling his heartbeat speed up as he realized it was time for him to leave.

"Now what do you look so worried about?" Tess asked, though there was a knowing smile on her face.

"My little girl's going to be here soon," he answered, smiling when Lucy wriggled in his arms. "My _other_ little girl," he corrected, cradling Lucy close for a few more seconds before carefully putting her back in her incubator.

"I know that," Tess nodded. "So, why does that make you nervous?"

"I haven't seen Daisy in almost a week," Ryan said slowly. "I've talked to her on the phone, but that's not the same as being there with her. Yesterday my sister had to convince her that I don't hate her...I don't know, Tess. What do you say to your little girl who has been so worried and scared and confused...who has been missing her parents and having who knows how many crying spells because of it?" He sighed. "Daisy is only three and a half years old...she doesn't really understand what's been going on, but she knows it's bad. She knows that her mommy is hurt and her sister is sick and that they've been in the hospital all week. She knows that I've been staying here because I've been so worried about them...but she doesn't understand why. So...what do you say?"

"You start by saying hello," Tess began, repeating what she'd said the first time they'd met. "And then you go wherever your heart tells you to."

* * *

Ryan hurried to the waiting room anxiously. He'd been comforted by what Tess had said in the NICU and now the only thing he wanted was to see his Daisy. He burst into the room and looked around, spotting her almost immediately. There she was, across the room and nestled safely in Vance's arms. She looked like a little angel, Ryan thought with a smile, more so than usual. "Daisy," he said her name softly, feeling his heart swell with love for the precious little girl across the room.

There was no way that Daisy could've possibly heard him, but she froze anyway. She had been looking at Zeke, but now she turned her head, her eyes instantly meeting her father's. Ryan watched her face light up and began rushing to her at the same time she was squirming her way out of Vance's arms. "Daddy!" she squealed, taking off running the second her little feet hit the ground and Ryan forced himself to stop, realizing that she wasn't slowing down anytime soon. He chose to squat down instead, opening his arms in invitation. She barreled into them a few seconds later, nearly knocking Ryan over in the process. He managed to steady himself as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close

"Oh Daisy...my beautiful little flower." He kissed the side of her head, taking a few moments to breathe in the smell of her shampoo. In that moment he wasn't sure which one of them needed the other one more. He could practically feel some of the broken pieces of his heart click back into place as he held her. Not all of them...some of the broken pieces had to do with Kelsi and Lucy...but even still. "I missed you so much, honey."

"I didn't think you wanted me anymore," she sniffled, holding onto him as tightly as she could.

"Oh sweetheart," he sighed sadly. "That could never happen." He kissed the side of her head again. "Not in a million, billion years."

"Promise?" she asked, her voice sounding small and forcing him to ease back so he could look at her.

"I promise," he said softly, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'm so sorry you felt that way, Daisy. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He gently brushed away some of the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks. "I love you so much, baby girl."

"I love you too, Daddy," she replied sweetly, though an inquisitive look appeared on her face a few seconds later. "Daddy? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, honey. What is it?" he asked, focusing intently on his daughter.

"You love me," she began, making him smile.

"Very much," he confirmed.

"And you loved Mommy before you loved me," she continued. "And now Lucy's here."

"Yes," he said gently.

"You always called me your little girl, but..." she trailed off, looking a little sad.

"But what, sweetie?"

"Is Lucy your little girl now?" she asked.

"Come on." He eased himself out of her grip and stood up, leaning down to pick her up. "I think it's time for us to have a Daddy, daughter chat." He sat down in a chair close to his family and shifted her around so that she was sitting on his lap. "I want to talk to you about love," he informed her, brushing some of her curls away from her face with his hand.

"Okay," she said quietly.

"You know what one of the most wonderful things about love is?" he asked her. "It grows."

"It grows?" she repeated, looking intrigued.

"Yeah," he nodded. "See, sweetie, there was a time in my life where I couldn't imagine ever loving anyone as much as I love Mommy. I didn't think it was possible. I mean, I loved my family and my friends, but the love I had for Mommy was so much bigger and stronger. I didn't think that there was any room left in my heart for me to love anyone else the same way. But then..." he smiled at her. "Then one day I took Mommy to the doctor and she told us that we were going to have you and we were so, so happy. We'd been wanting you for a long time, you know that? And once we knew you were coming, we couldn't wait to meet you. We loved you from the first second we heard about you."

"Really?" Her face lit up. "But you didn't know me yet!" Ryan chuckled, taking a second to kiss her forehead.

"Well, that's another wonderful thing about love. We didn't have to know you yet...we just knew we loved you," he told her. "You know, I still remember the first time we met."

"You do?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he nodded. "I remember we were in the hospital...this hospital, in fact. You had just come out of Mommy's tummy and the nurses cleaned you up a little and wrapped you up in a soft pink blanket and then one of them handed you to Mommy." Ryan's voice grew softer as he spoke, remembering the day in perfect detail. "I remember being so jealous of Mommy right then because she got to hold you first. Mommy was cradling you safely against her chest and going on and on about how perfect and beautiful you were. I remember reaching out to touch your cheek and you grabbed my finger. Your hands were so small," he smiled again. "But they were strong. You had a pretty tight grip on my finger and wouldn't let go. And then you looked at me and I knew right away that I was going to love you forever." Ryan ran his hand through her silky curls again as he continued. "You know what happened next?"

"Daddy," she said, dragging the word out. "I was only a day old."

"Good point," he grinned. "Mommy scooted over so I could sit down beside her and then handed you over to me. I still remember the way you felt in my arms, so beautiful and perfect, just like Mommy said you were. I held you close and looked at your little face and I realized something. You know how I said that I'd never imagined loving anyone as much as I loved Mommy?" She nodded. "Well, in that moment, as I held you for the very first time, I knew that I had been wrong. Because I knew that I loved you _just_ as much as I loved Mommy. Maybe not in the same way, but the same amount. I never thought it was possible, but you see, baby girl, that's what I mean when I say that love grows."

"Now...you've had me and Mommy all to yourself for your entire life and now things are changing. Now we have Lucy. You asked me if she's my little girl and yes, she's _one_ of them. I think I'm a very lucky man, you know why?" He answered before she could. "Because I have not one, but _two_ little girls and yes, I love Lucy very, very much, but it doesn't mean that I love you any less. I love you and Mommy and Lucy the same amount," he said gently. "Know why?"

"Because love grows," she replied quietly.

"That's right. Love grows," he smiled. "And I want you to listen to me – there isn't anything in this world that could ever make me love you any less than I do right now. It's just not possible. Okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay," she agreed, rewarding him with a smile. "Daddy?"

"Yes, baby girl?"

"I'm so happy you're my daddy," she said sweetly, causing a lump to form in his throat.

"And I'm so happy that you're my baby," he managed, hugging her closer and kissing the top of her head.

"Daddy?" she asked a moment later, pulling away so she could look at him.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Lucy will like me?" she wanted to know.

"Are you kidding? Lucy is going to adore you," he informed her. "How could she not?"

"I brought her something," she surprised him by saying.

"You did?" he asked, glancing up at a smiling Gabriella, who had just stepped closer to them.

"She did," Gabriella confirmed, her eyes shining with tears. Ryan and Daisy had been sitting close enough to the others that they had all heard their conversation. She lifted up a small bag she was holding. "I took Daisy out shopping the other day and she decided that she wanted to get Lucy a Christmas present." She turned her attention to Daisy. "Wanna show your daddy what you got?" Daisy nodded, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small stuffed polar bear.

"I checked with the hospital," Gabriella told him. "Stuffed animals are okay in the NICU, they just have to wrap them up in plastic first."

"Do you think she'll like it, Daddy?" Daisy asked, somewhat anxiously. "I know she's in the hospital, but...but it's her first Christmas. I thought she should get a present." Ryan seemed to have lost the ability to speak for the moment, choosing to hug his daughter close again. The lump in his throat felt like it had doubled in size. It'd never occurred to him to give Lucy some kind of stuffed animal, even though he'd noticed a lot of the other babies in the unit had one. He'd been too worried about all his girls to think about small details like stuffed animals. It was the kind of thing Kelsi would've thought of, he realized, feeling a pang of sadness shoot through him at the thought of his wife, still in her coma. "Daddy? Are you okay?" Ryan closed his eyes at the question, marveling at his little girl's sensitivity. She was so much like her mother in that respect.

"Yes, baby girl," he managed. "I'm okay. You just...you remind me so much of your mommy."

"Really?" Daisy asked, sounding delighted over the idea, even though he could still hear traces of concern in her voice. "I remind you of Mommy?"

"You do," he confirmed, willing his voice not to give out on him again. "So much." He kissed the top of her head. "You know what I think, sweetheart?"

"What?"

"I think that Lucy is going to _love_ her present," he told her.

"Good," Daisy smiled, trying to snuggle closer to him. "Daddy?"

"Yes, Daisy?"

"Do I _have_ to go back to Uncle Troy and Aunt Gabriella's tonight? I want to stay with you," she told him.

"Oh honey," he sighed. "I would love to have you stay with me, but I'm going to have to check on Lucy and Mommy some more tonight so I wouldn't be able to stay with you the entire time. And I don't where you'd sleep," he added.

"Where do _you_ sleep?" she asked him.

"In Mommy's hospital room, but...but there's not a lot of room in there and Mommy is...well..." he trailed off, not sure how to continue. Daisy knew Kelsi was hurt and hurt badly, but he wasn't sure how he could explain a coma to her...and more than that, how he could do so without scaring her. "Mommy has been asleep for a very long time...she needs the sleep so she can heal," he said, forcing himself to sound normal. "It's a very deep sleep, honey, and well, I...I think you should wait to see her until she wakes up," he finished.

"Oh," Daisy said sadly. "But...but it's Christmas Eve," she pouted. "I want to stay with you."

"I know you do, sweetheart. I wish you could, but..." Ryan sighed again.

"She can," Vance spoke up, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What?" Ryan asked, confused.

"When you decided to let Daisy come visit you, I called Daddy," Sharpay cut in, smiling at her brother. "And you know, the Evans name carries a lot of weight in this hospital thanks to all of the generous donations our parents have given over the years. So...he managed to pull some strings and work it out so you could have a private room with two beds, on the floor right below Kelsi's."

"And if you're worried about any of your girls being left alone, we have that covered," Vance informed him.

"What do you mean?" Ryan wanted to know.

"It means that a bunch of us will be hanging out around here until Lucy goes to sleep for the night," Sharpay answered. "So, we'll be able to cover all of your girls at once and then, once Lucy goes to sleep for the night, most of us will leave."

"Most?" Ryan asked.

"Joey is staying with our parents tonight and Zeke and I are staying here," she told him. "We'll stay with Daisy while you're with Kelsi and then we'll switch."

"You're both willing to do that?" Ryan asked, his jaw dropping slightly.

"Of course," Sharpay rolled her eyes, seemingly insulted by his asking. "You're my twin."

"We're family," Zeke said simply.

"That...this...this means a lot to me," Ryan managed. "I'm touched."

"Yeah, in the head," Chad joked in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly, sensing that Ryan was fighting not to cry in front of them.

"Thanks," Ryan said sarcastically, making the others laugh. He flashed Chad a look of gratitude before he continued. "But really...I really appreciate everything you've all done. I love you all."

"We love you too, Ry," Sharpay said softly.


	12. The Christmas Hope: Part 3

**A/N: Whew. I'm not overly thrilled with the ending, but I think it works. This chapter is insanely long, just to warn you. Lots of material and once again I couldn't decide what to cut so I kept it all in. The first two parts of this were pretty dramatic and depressing, so I decided I wanted to inject some humor in this one. First, there's the scene with Ryan and Sharpay and then there's one with Daisy/Chad/Zeke/Ryan. Now, for the latter scene, you'll notice that Daisy has given Chad and Zeke names to go along with what they're doing. Both of them are borrowed from other places and for some reason, I thought I'd have a contest of sorts for anything who wants to participate (assuming anyone does, ha). For anyone who can tell me where the names come from, I will write a Ryelsi one-shot (though other people can be included) of their choosing. It can be anything you want & I'll do my best to do it justice. Here's a hint for you: one of them (the harder one, I think) is from a TV show that isn't on anymore and the other one is from a musical. If you think you know, you can either put your answers in a review or message me. I'll let you know if you're right and then you can tell me what kind of one-shot you want & I'll write it. This chapter wraps up the end of the Christmas Hope miniseries (if you will) and I'm hoping to have the next one up soon. Hope you like this one!  
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_Sometime after midnight. Christmas Day._

"Daddy?"

Once Lucy had gone to sleep for the night, Ryan had spent some time with Kelsi before heading to the room that he was sharing with Daisy. Sharpay had gotten her ready for bed and Zeke had read her bedtime stories and Daisy had been fast asleep when Ryan had gotten back. Sharpay and Zeke had then gone to stay with Kelsi and Ryan had gotten ready to go to sleep, kissing Daisy's forehead before climbing into the other hospital bed. That had been sometime around eleven. It had been early for him, but he'd decided he may as well try and get a good night's sleep in case Daisy woke up early. He'd been sleeping pretty peacefully, but then he'd been woken up by the sound of Daisy's voice.

"Daddy?" she whispered again, causing him to roll over so he could face her.

"What's the matter, baby girl?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbow so he could see her better. She was clutching her stuffed penguin, Frosty, with both hands and her eyes were shining with tears.

"I'm scared," she answered tearfully.

"You want up?" he asked gently, sitting up completely when she nodded. "Okay. Come here, sweetheart." He reached down and carefully lifted her up into the bed beside him. She waited for him to lie back down and then cuddled up to him. Frosty the penguin was now squished between her arm and his side. Ryan wrapped one arm around her and stroked her hair soothingly with his other hand. "It's okay, Daisy," he said softly. "I'm here. Daddy's here. It's okay."

"D-Daddy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I...I...I miss Mommy," she sniffled.

"Me too, Daisy." He turned his head to kiss the top of hers, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes. "Me too. I miss Mommy so much."

"D-Daddy? Do you think Mommy's scared too?" she asked.

"Well...I think that Mommy is probably missing us too," he said carefully. "But you want to know a secret?"

"O-okay," she agreed.

"I met an angel the other day. An angel from God...from heaven...her name is Monica," he told her.

"Really? You met an angel?" she asked, craning her head to try to look at him. "A real angel?"

"A real angel," he confirmed. "She had a very important message for me...a message that I want to try to explain to you." He pursed his lips as he thought about it, relieved when inspiration hit. "I know that things are pretty scary right now. Mommy's hurt and Lucy is sick and they've both been trying to get better...I've been here with them and you've been away with Uncle Troy and Aunt Gabriella and missing me and Mommy...it's a scary time."

"Very scary," she agreed.

"Very scary," he echoed. "I know that you don't really understand what's going on and that's okay. What we're going through with Mommy and Lucy, well, it's kind of like a storm...everything is really scary and we're sad and missing Mommy and worried about Lucy and we don't know when it's all going to stop, but...but you know the good thing about storms?"

"W-what?" she asked.

"The storm may be big, but God is bigger," he said gently. "He loves us and He cares about what we're going through and He's been with us every step of the way. And you know what? He gave us all angels to help us get through it."

"Like Monica?" Daisy asked.

"Like Monica," he nodded. "She was sent to help me feel better about what's going on. And then...and then there's a woman named Tess in the NICU who has been taking care of Lucy and I always thought she was just a nurse, but Monica told me that _she_ is an angel too."

"Lucy has her own angel?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, she does," Ryan answered. "And then there's another angel named Andrew? And Monica told me that he is with Mommy, even though we can't see him. So...so yes, I think that Mommy is missing us, but no, I don't think she's scared because she has an angel to look after her and keep her safe."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So, things may be scary right now, but we have angels all around us looking over us and you know what else?" he asked.

"What?"

"Today is Christmas...technically...and Christmas is all about miracles. I...I kind of forgot that," he admitted. "But Monica helped remind me. You see, sweetheart, Christmas is all about hope and faith and miracles and love. Remember what I told you about love?"

"It grows," she answered.

"That's right. Love grows...you know what else grows?" Ryan asked. "Hope. You see...hope is kind of like a candle. A candle can light up even the darkest place, you know that? Hope tells us that as scary as things are now, that they won't always be that way. Hope gives us faith things will be better tomorrow and you know the best thing about hope?"

"What, Daddy?"

"It never goes away. Now...we can stop believing in it and we can stop looking for it, but it never goes away. You know why? Because God is always with us and there are angels all around us to remind us of that hope, to help us remember what it was like to feel it and so, we do. All it takes is a tiny little bit," he told her.

"And then it grows?" she asked, causing him to marvel again at her intelligence for her age.

"And then it grows," he smiled. "So...everything may be scary right now, but we still have hope and as long as we have that we know that it won't stay scary forever. You know what else we have?"

"The angels?"

"The angels," he nodded. "And our family and our friends who love us and care about us. And you know what _else_ you have?"

"What?"

"A daddy who loves you more than life itself and who will always be here for you when you need him. No matter what," he said softly.

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head again.

"Frosty too," she demanded, lifting the penguin up for him and almost hitting him in the face with it.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled. "Frosty too." He dutifully kissed the top of the penguin's head.

"Goodnight Daddy," she said softly.

"Goodnight baby girl," he whispered.

* * *

"Kelsi?"

Kelsi looked up at Andrew's voice. She had been sitting in the field of flowers looking up at that bright blue sky and had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard him coming. "Yes?" she asked, feeling a pang of nerves. Andrew had definitely been a comforting presence to have around while she had been stuck in limbo, but there was no denying how anxious she was about finding out where he'd be taking her. Every conversation they had began with her feeling nervous, worried that he'd be telling her that he was taking her to heaven.

"It's time," he said softly, offering his hand to her. She gulped as she placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet.

"T-time?" she stammered, her eyes widening. "You mean...time to leave?"

"Yes," he smiled. "Your time here has finished."

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"Home," he answered simply.

"Is that home to my family or...or home to heaven?" she asked meekly. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't be afraid, Kelsi. There's no reason to be," he assured her. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied.

"All right," he responded. "Let's go."

* * *

_Christmas morning. _

"Ryan! Ryan, wake up!" Sharpay hissed, leaning in close to her brother's sleeping form, hoping that she'd be able to wake him up without disturbing Daisy. She had come straight from Kelsi's room, anxious to get to Ryan as soon as possible to tell him what had happened. She'd barreled into his room and found herself coming to a sudden stop as she took in the sight that had greeted her.

According to Troy and Gabriella, Daisy had been having nightmares almost every night she'd been staying with them and Sharpay assumed something like that had happened again last night, because Daisy was with Ryan in his bed. She was lying on her back with her blonde curls fanned out across the pillow and holding her beloved penguin under one arm. Ryan was fast asleep on his side with his arm wrapped around her in a naturally protective manner. It had been such a sweet scene to witness that Sharpay had almost wished she had her camera. She'd been reluctant to disturb them, knowing that both Ryan and Daisy had been having a hard time sleeping these days. But she had news for her brother – news that simply couldn't wait.

So she'd move to wake Ryan up and had quickly grown frustrated because waking him up had proven to be more difficult than anticipated. "Ryan! Wake up, all ready!" she hissed again, relieved when he grumbled incoherently. A good sign. "Ryan!"

"Go away," he mumbled.

"Sorry Ry, I'm not going anywhere. You need to wake up," she informed him. "It's Kelsi." That did the trick. Ryan moved to sit up so fast that it would've been comical in any other situation. Sharpay jumped back instinctively, which was a good thing because otherwise there would've been a collision. "Okay, mental note to self," she rolled her eyes. "Next time I want to wake you up, just mention Kelsi."

"What about Kelsi?" he asked, a little louder than intended due to the panic that was rushing through his body at Sharpay's words. He winced as he glanced over at Daisy, relieved to find that she was still asleep. "Is she okay? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Okay, relax please," Sharpay ordered. "And do yourself a favor and get out of that bed and put some shoes on." She pursed her lips as a new thought occurred to her. "And you might want to brush your teeth real quick."

"Who cares about my teeth?" he asked, struggling to stay patient. "What about my wife?"

"Oh honestly," she sighed, though she was fighting off a smile. "You have to brush your teeth, Ry, just in case you have morning breath. Duh."

"Sharpay," he began, speaking through clenched teeth. "I don't give a flying fig about morning breath right now. I just want-,"

"Ah, see, _you_ may not," Sharpay interrupted. "But _Kelsi_ might."

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked, confused. "Kelsi's in a coma, remember? How would she know if I have morning breath or not?"

"Correction," she shook her head, unable to hold back her smile any longer. "She _was_ in a coma."

"Yeah, she..." Ryan trailed off as what Sharpay had just said slowly began to work its way through him. "What did you just say?" he whispered.

"I said that she was in a coma," she repeated, her voice quickly growing in excitement as she continued. "Was, as in past tense, as in she's not anymore. That's what I came here to tell you. Kelsi woke up!"

"Are...are you serious?" he asked, feeling his eyes begin to tear up. "She's...Kelsi...she's awake? She's not in her coma anymore, she's awake?"

"She's awake," Sharpay confirmed. "I can't tell you when it happened though...I had stopped by the NICU to wish Lucy a merry Christmas and then I went back to Kelsi's room and Zeke was still asleep in that awful recliner and...and there Kelsi was, lying in her bed awake...I almost had a heart attack," she admitted.

"Kelsi's awake," Ryan managed, just barely resisting the urge to cry out in joy. "I have to see her! Oh, but Daisy..."

"That's why I'm here," Sharpay reminded him. "I'll stay with Daisy, you go to your wife." Her smile turned into a grin. "Your beautiful wife who has finally come out of that coma and really wants to see you." She watched Ryan stop to kiss Daisy's forehead before he eased himself out of the bed. "I'm so happy for you, Ry," she said softly, flinging her arms around him. "I'm so happy she's awake. Finally! Took her long enough, huh?"

"I'll say," Ryan replied. "I gotta go. I have to see her."

"Shoes," Sharpay reminded him. "And really...brush your teeth."

"Okay, okay," he rolled his eyes, humoring her by brushing his teeth at lightning speed while he found his shoes.

"Okay, good," Sharpay nodded. "Now go! Don't worry about Daisy, we'll be fine."

"Thanks Shar," he said quickly, rushing out of the room...only to come rushing back in to give her another quick hug. "For everything," he whispered.

"Hey," she smiled at him. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he grinned at her before darting back out of the room.

* * *

Ryan was practically flying as he raced towards the elevators, waiting for a total of two seconds before growing impatient and hurrying towards the stairs. He took them two at a time, reaching Kelsi's floor in record time. He rushed down the hallway to her room and just barely avoided a collision with Zeke, who was coming out of it.

"Oh sorry, man," Zeke apologized. "I was just going to go check on Lucy real quick to see if she's still asleep and then I was going to head back to Sharpay and Daisy."

"Thanks," Ryan managed, allowing Zeke to move past. "Hey...how...how is she?"

"Kelsi?" Zeke smiled. "She's pretty wiped out, but...but she's good."

"Good," Ryan nodded.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked, surprising to find Ryan looking nervous all of a sudden.

"I should've been here," Ryan said quietly. "I should've been here when she woke up, but I wasn't."

"Right, and the reason you weren't is because you were with Daisy. She totally understands," Zeke assured him.

"Even so...what do you say to your wife who has been in a coma all week?" Ryan wanted to know.

"You start by saying hello and then you go wherever your heart tells you," Zeke replied, smiling at the look on Ryan's face. "I talk to Tess, too, you know. She's right. Now stop talking to me and go in there and see that wife of yours. She wants you."

"Okay," Ryan nodded again. "Thanks." He let out a long sigh, lightly knocking on the door as Zeke walked away. He waited for a moment and then slowly opened the door, feeling like his heart might beat its way out of his chest, considering the way it was now pounding. He slipped into the room and felt his breath catch as he found himself looking into Kelsi's eyes. Eyes that had stayed closed for far too long in his opinion. "Kelsi."

"Ryan," she whispered, sounding a little weak as she managed to lift her hand towards him. That was all the invitation Ryan needed and he rushed to her side, grabbing her hand and lifting it to his lips. "Hi," she said, smiling at him.

"Hi yourself," he said softly, kissing her hand a couple more times. "How are you feeling, baby?"

"Tired," she yawned. "Really tired and my stomach kind of hurts."

"Probably from the C-section," he nodded, wincing in sympathy.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes as he brought a hand to her face to brush her hair away from it. "That feels nice though." She let herself get lost in his touch, absently wondering if it had ever felt so sweet. "I missed you," she sighed. "I was with Andrew and he told me what happened and...and I really missed you."

"I missed you too," Ryan said carefully, fighting to keep his emotions under control. "Daisy and I...we've _both_ missed you so much. Not to mention Lucy."

"Oh!" Kelsi's eyes flew back open at the mention of Lucy. "Lucy! How is she? Is she okay?"

"She's doing great," Ryan answered quickly, hoping to keep Kelsi from panicking. "She's in the NICU and she's...there's been a couple of scares, but...but she's...she's doing really well now. She's getting stronger every day. She's..." he trailed off, surprised to see Kelsi's eyes filling up with tears. "Hey...what's wrong, baby?" he asked softly. "I told you, Lucy is doing great. She really, really is. The doctors are pretty sure that she's going to be just fine."

"Good...that's good," Kelsi sniffled.

"What's the matter? This is a good thing, honey," he said gently, getting more concerned as tears began to trail down her cheeks. "Come on, Kelsi, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I...I'm happy she's doing well. I really, really I am, but...but," Kelsi tried.

"But what?" he coaxed.

"It's just...I...I carried her inside me f-for all those months and now...n-now she's in the NICU because she came early and she's...she's..." Kelsi's chin quivered as she continued. "I...Z-Zeke told me that it was C-Christmas so...so I was out for a w-week..."

"Right," he nodded, bringing his other hand to her face and gently wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"Oh Ryan," she cried. "Lucy's...Lucy's a week old and she's...s-she's been in the NICU and she's n-needed her mother, but...I..." She sniffled again. "S-she doesn't even know me...I...my b-baby has needed me, but..."

"Oh Kelsi," he sighed sadly, leaning into kiss her forehead a couple of times.

"I have a b-baby I've never even met," she sobbed.

"It's not your fault, honey," he said soothingly.

"H-how do you know?" she wanted to know. "M-maybe she wouldn't have come earlier if I'd t-taken better care of myself."

"Baby, you took great care of yourself," he assured her. "What happened wasn't your fault, Kelsi, it just...it just happened. And...and the important thing to remember is that you're awake and Lucy is doing great. That's all that matters now."

"B-but even s-so," Kelsi shook her head weakly. "She n-needs her mother and I'm...I'm a s-stranger to her. What's it g-gonna be like when I finally meet her? She...she won't know me."

"You're her mother," he said gently. "There's no way she couldn't not know you. I know she's a week old now, but...but that won't change anything. You'll meet her and hold her and she'll know. She'll know you're her mother. I know she will."

"H-how?"

"Because you carried her for all those months and she heard you talking and singing to her...she knows your voice better than she knows anyone else's," he began. "A week isn't long enough to change that." He kissed her for head a couple more times. "It'll be okay, baby, I promise. Lucy is going to know who you are the first time you talk to her, I know she will and...and I bet she's going to be really, really happy to meet you."

"W-what's she like?" Kelsi wanted to know.

"Well...she's small and...and she's beautiful...just like her mommy," he smiled. "She has tiny hands and feet and she looks a little fragile, but...but she's strong. Let's see..." He caressed her face as he spoke in an attempt to soothe. "She likes to be sung to...she loves music, I think...especially your songs," he told her. "She likes to be held against your chest...the nurses call it kangaroo care. It calms her down... especially if you're singing to her. She's...Kelsi...she's amazing, she really is."

"You...you sing my songs?" Kelsi asked tearfully.

"Of course," Ryan answered. "I think her favorite is _What I've Been Looking For_...the original version. That one seems to calm her down the best."

"I want to see her," Kelsi informed him. "I want to meet our baby."

"You will," he promised. "As soon as you're feeling better."

"I want to go now," she pouted. "I want to see Lucy...and Daisy." Her eyes widened at the thought of their older daughter. "Oh Ryan, how's Daisy? How's our little flower? Is she okay?"

"She's here...my dad pulled some strings and she stayed with me last night," he answered slowly. "She...she really misses you and..." He hesitated.

"And what?" she asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"She's had a tough week," Ryan admitted. "I've...I've been staying here with you and Lucy and she's been with Troy and Gabriella and...and she's been missing us. She...she thought I hated her."

"What?" she gasped.

"Me and her had a little chat...and Sharpay had one with her too...she knows I don't now," he assured her. "It's just...she's...she's been having a tough time, but...but..." He closed his eyes, feeling himself about to lose his control over his emotions as everything he was feeling was slowly coming to a head.

"But what?" she asked. "What's wrong, Ryan?"

"We just...we..." Ryan's face twisted in pain, causing Kelsi's brow to furrow in concern.

"Ryan...honey, what's wrong? Tell me," she urged him gently. His eyes were wet with tears as he opened them and for a couple of seconds she wondered if he was going to say anything at all.

"You are never doing this to us again," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Are you listening to me? You are never doing this to us again. Do you have any idea how hard it's been without you?" he asked. "We just...we...dammit..." He leaned in closer and placed a series of kisses on her forehead, ignoring the tears that were now streaming down his face. "You scared the hell out of me," he murmured between kisses. "I thought I was going to lose you and I...you can't do this to us ever again, okay? You can't...Daisy and I have been so worried about you...we've missed you so damn much and we can't...we can't make it without you. Daisy and Lucy need their mother and I...I need my wife. Dammit..."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No...it's not your fault," he said quickly. "I just...dammit..." He eased away so he could look into her eyes. "It's been so hard without you. Do you...do you have any idea how much I need you? Do you? Do you have any idea how much I love you? You are...you and our girls are my whole life. I'm nothing without my girls. Absolutely nothing..."

"Oh Ryan." Kelsi's eyes filled with fresh tears as she lifted her hand to caress his cheek.

"You know...the whole time you were in your coma, it was like...it was like I'd forgotten how to breathe. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe and even then..." He shook his head, holding her hand in place with one of his. "I tried so hard to stay strong for all of you, but I've been breaking down...I'm so happy that we've had the angels with us because I swear...if it hadn't of been for Monica I think I would've lost all hope. I just..." He shook his head again. "You were in your coma and Lucy was fighting to stay alive and Daisy was heartbroken and I just...you can't do this to me again, Kelsi. I'm not strong enough to make it without you."

"That's not true," she said huskily. "You...you'd keep going...for our girls."

"Maybe," he acknowledged. "But there would be a huge part of my heart missing. I need you, baby. I need you so much."

"I need you too," she whispered.

"Don't scare me like this ever again, please baby," he pleaded. "I...you really, really scared me."

"I know," she said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"I know," he whispered. "I'm not...I'm not mad at you I just..." He sighed, letting his forehead rest against hers. "I really, really missed you."

"I love you," she said softly. "I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, baby. You have no idea," he murmured.

"Ryan." His name came out on a whisper and their eyes met. "Ryan," she repeated, her gaze flickering to his lips. He eased back slightly, gently running the back of his hand down her cheek before leaning in and brushing his lips against hers in a short, but soft kiss. "Hap..." she began, but stopped when her voice broke. She gave him a watery smile as she continued. "Happy anniversary, Ryan."

"Mmm," he sighed, giving her another brief and tender kiss. "Happy anniversary, baby." He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, letting the rest of his emotions flow out of him and taking comfort in the knowledge that Kelsi had finally woken up from her long sleep.

Kelsi stayed silent, cupping his cheek with her hand and trying to commit the way he felt to memory. Her time in limbo had never felt completely real...it had been like a strange and beautiful dream world. She wasn't sure if she was imagining things or not, but since leaving that dream world and returning to reality, she felt as if all of her senses had been heightened somehow, particularly when it came to Ryan. She was acutely aware of everything about him from the way he smelled to the subtle way his body moved as he breathed – something she had never really paid attention to before. She closed her eyes and focused on the way his forehead felt against her own versus the way his cheek felt against her hand.

"Kelsi," he whispered her name and a faint smile appeared on her face as a result. She was quite certain that his voice had never sounded so beautiful. She let out a soft, contented sigh as she opened her eyes, her smile returning when she saw that his were open now as well. She let herself get lost in them in the for a few moments, taking note of all the varying shades of blue and gray she could see in his eyes. "What?" he asked, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Oh, nothing," she said lightly, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "I was just falling in love with you all over again, is all."

"Hmm." His smile deepened and Kelsi felt her breath catch in her throat when she noticed the twinkle that was now in his eyes, nearly finding herself getting lost in them once more. "I know the feeling."

"What, you fall in love with yourself multiple times too?" she teased him.

"Every day," he said seriously, his expression dead-pan. He smirked as she giggled, practically feeling his heart dancing around in his chest in joy. "I was talking about you, silly," he added, playfully tapping her on the nose.

"Come here," she said, another giggle escaping as she brought his lips back to hers for another sweet kiss. "Hey," she said softly, her expression growing more serious. "I want to see our girls."

"Kelsi," he began, trailing off at the look on her face.

"I want to see our girls," she repeated. "Today."

"Baby, you just woke up from a coma, you need rest," he said gently.

"I need my girls," she argued. "Please, Ryan, I need to see my girls. It's Christmas. I...I can't..." She paused as she felt her hormones begin to kick in. "It's bad enough that I'm in the hospital on Christmas...I don't want to have to go the whole day without seeing my babies, too." Her lip trembled as her eyes filled with tears. "I need them...and they need me too. Please, honey."

"I'll talk to the doctors," Ryan said quietly, desperately wanting to get the look of sadness off his wife's face as fast as possible. "If they say it's okay, I'll take you to meet Lucy and then I'll bring Daisy up here. Okay?"

"Go ask now," she begged him. "Please...I want to know."

"Okay," he said quickly. "I'll go now...on one condition. Try to get some rest while I'm gone, okay?"

"I will," she promised.

"Okay." He kissed her forehead a couple of times. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * *

Ryan made a quick stop by the room he'd been sharing with Daisy, just barely holding back the laugh that was dying to escape at the scene that greeted him. He'd run into Sharpay in the hallway, surprised to find Taylor with her. Taylor had given him a hug and explained that her and Chad had arrived a few minutes ago to see how everyone was doing and had both been overjoyed to hear that Kelsi had waken up. Sharpay then told Ryan that their parents had just arrived at the hospital with Joey and her and Taylor were on their way to meet them. Daisy was back in the room with Zeke and Chad, Taylor had added. The two women had exchanged a look at that point and proceeded to confuse Ryan by snickering. He'd see what was so funny when he got in there, Sharpay assured him.

Ryan had then told them that he's see them later and hurried to the room to see his daughter. He hadn't been sure what he'd been expecting to see when he'd opened the door, though it certainly hadn't been the scene in question. Daisy and Zeke were sitting on one bed and Chad on the other and appearing to be having a tea party. Zeke and Sharpay had brought along some toys to help keep Daisy entertained while she was in the hospital with Ryan, including a toy tea set. The sight of the two former basketball players pretending to drink tea and eating imaginary snacks was funny enough, but the thing that threatened to send Ryan over the edge was the fact that Daisy had apparently thought that his friends needed to be dressed up for the occasion.

Chad had a big, floppy hat with pink and white flowers on it perched precariously on his head and a few long strands of fake pearls wrapped around his neck. His ensemble was completed by a handful of bracelets on both of his wrists. "Shut up," Chad growled softly, his eyes narrowing at Ryan.

"Daddy!" Daisy scrambled over Zeke's lap and off the bed, raising her arms up to Ryan for a hug. He was happy to oblige, sweeping her up into his arms and cuddling her close.

"Hello sweetheart," he smiled, kissing her forehead. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," she echoed.

"Are you having a tea party with Uncle Zeke and Uncle Chad?" he asked her.

"Silly Daddy," she shook her head. "That's Mrs. Hollingsworth," she informed him, pointing to Chad.

'Shut up,' Chad mouthed.

"Yeah? And who's that?" Ryan asked, nodding to Zeke.

"I say, old man," Zeke replied, talking in what Ryan assumed was supposed to be a British accent. Zeke was wearing a bowler hat, complete with a matching bow tie and a monocle over his right eye. "I'm Colonel Pickering from jolly ole England."

"I see," Ryan managed, unable to hold back his snicker. "You gave them names?" he asked his daughter.

"Yes," she smiled at him. "It helps them stay in character," she added.

"The accent?" Ryan asked Zeke, who grinned and shrugged.

"Well, I figured I might as well go all out, eh, old chap?" Zeke replied.

"Does..." Ryan trailed off as he chuckled. "Does Mrs. Hollingsworth have an accent, too?"

"Of course, Daddy," Daisy answered. "Mrs. Hollingsworth is from Atlanta."

"Oh really?" Ryan asked, amused.

"Yes," Chad sighed. "I don't know why I let myself get bossed around by a little girl."

"Because you love me," Daisy answered sweetly.

"Yeah, well, at least I have a good reason," Chad conceded, smiling in spite himself. "All right, miss Daisy," he began, amusing Ryan by raising his voice and slipping into a Southern accent. "Yes, I am Mrs. Hollingsworth from Atlanta," he continued, narrowing his eyes at Ryan snickered again. "And I bet your tea is startin' to get cold, little missy," he added, to Daisy.

"Ah, yes, that's probably true," Zeke nodded, still speaking in his makeshift English accent. "But I daresay that Daisy's father has some jolly good news to share first."

"You daresay?" Chad muttered under his breath, amused.

"Hey, at least I get to be a dude," Zeke countered. "While _you're_ stuck being Mrs. Hollingsworth from Atlanta."

"Oh yeah!" Daisy's face lit up as she ignored Chad and Zeke's side conversation, all of her attention focused on Ryan. "Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke said that you had good news."

"We thought you should be the one to tell her," Zeke said quietly.

"Actually, sweetheart, I have _wonderful_ news," Ryan corrected. "Do you remember how I said that Mommy has been sleeping for a very long time?" He waited until she nodded. "Well, guess what?"

"What?" Daisy asked, her eyes wide.

"Mommy woke up this morning," he told her.

"Mommy's awake?" she asked, a bright smile spreading across her little face. "Really?"

"Really," he smiled. "She's awake and she's talking and you know what else?"

"What?" Daisy asked.

"She really, really wants to see you," he answered.

"I get to see Mommy?" she asked, her voice full of excitement.

"You do," he confirmed. "I talked to Mommy's doctor and he said that it was okay. So you know what? I'm going to take Mommy to spend some time with Lucy and maybe you can get some lunch." He glanced up at Zeke, who nodded and gave Ryan a thumbs up to indicate that it'd be taken care of. "And _then_ I'm going to come get you and take you up to see Mommy."

* * *

Kelsi's eyes were wide as she watched Ryan carefully lift Lucy out of her incubator. "Hi Lucy, it's Daddy. You know what today is?" Ryan lifted his eyebrows and waited for a moment before he continued. "It's Christmas! We talked about Christmas, remember? Well, actually, _I_ talked, but it looked like you were listening to me." He smiled at his daughter. "Guess what, sweetheart. I have a very special Christmas surprise for you, yes I do. Wanna know what it is?" he asked, keeping his voice soft. "Do you? Huh?"

Kelsi chewed on her lip as Ryan approached, her heart seeming to race a little faster with each step he took. She'd been anxiously awaiting this moment ever since she'd found out about her baby while she was in limbo with Andrew, desperate to hold her little baby for the first time. But now as the moment she'd been waiting for was seconds away, she was overcome by a rush of nerves. Ryan had told her that Lucy would be small, but she'd never imagined that she'd be as small as she was. She looked so fragile, so breakable, and Kelsi found herself holding her breath – though she wasn't sure if it was due to anticipation or fear.

"You know who this is, baby girl?" Ryan asked softly. "This is Mommy. You know, your mommy went through so much to bring you to this world and she's been really wanting to meet you, but I think she's a little scared right now." He paused as Lucy looked at him. "We don't want Mommy to be scared, now do we?" He gave his daughter an exaggerated pout as he shook his head. "No, we don't. You know what I think, sweetheart? I think that Mommy is going to feel a lot better once she's holding you." He glanced at Kelsi, noting that her eyes were locked on Lucy's face. He sat down in a chair close to his wife's wheelchair and angled himself so he was facing her. "Can you say hi to Mommy? Huh? Say hi Mommy."

Kelsi, for her part, had lost the ability to speak at the moment as her eyes quickly filled with tears. She should have been prepared for the intense feeling of love that rushed through her body at first sight of her daughter – the same thing had happened with Daisy, after all – but it had taken her aback all the same. Her daughter was perfect, she decided. Small, maybe, but that didn't take away from her perfection. She was beautiful, just as Ryan had said she was, with her tiny little hands and feet and a thin layer of brown fuzz covering her small head. She slowly reached a hand out to trail a finger down her daughter's silky cheek, feeling her breath catch when Lucy grabbed it. "Do you want to hold her?" Ryan asked, a knowing smile on his face. Kelsi's arms lifted almost on their own accord.

"Please," she whispered, though she winced at all the wires that were attached to her daughter, worried she'd do something to disconnect them.

"Don't worry about those, baby," Tess spoke up from her other side. "I'll take care of them for you." Kelsi gave her a nervous smile before turning her attention back to her husband and very carefully taking Lucy for him, holding her breath until she was certain that she had a good hold of her baby. Tess stayed true to her word and rearranged all of the wires as the transfer was taking place, taking care to place them so they wouldn't get in Kelsi's way.

"Hi Lucy," she cooed softly. "It's Mommy and it's so nice to meet you...I'm sorry that it took so long." Kelsi paused as her voice broke, blinking furiously against her tears. Ryan brought his hand to her shoulder and gently rubbed it in a show of support. "I would've been here sooner if I could have, but...but I'm here now and I love you so much." She gently rocked her daughter, smiling when Lucy met her gaze. "Mommy loves you so, so much, sweetheart."

"There, you see?" Ryan spoke up, keeping his voice gentle. "She knows who her mommy is."

"Oh Ryan," Kelsi sniffled. "She's so beautiful. Isn't she beautiful?" She glanced up at him for a moment. "She has your eyes," she decided. "And your nose."

"And your everything else," Ryan chuckled softly. "She's perfect."

"She is," Kelsi nodded. "She really, really is. Just like her big sister."

"Just like her mommy," Ryan added, smiling at the picture Kelsi and Lucy made together. He leaned in closer to them and he and Kelsi cooed over their daughter together, quietly wondering what kind of person she'd grow up to be...they both quickly decided that it would be a pretty wonderful one. They were so caught up in their discussion and their baby that they didn't realize that they'd grown an audience...not that they would've been able to see them anyway.

"They make such a beautiful family," Monica smiled. "And wee Daisy, of course. It's so good that Lucy is finally getting to meet her mother. She's been waiting so long...I was wondering if Kelsi would be coming back." She turned her attention to Andrew. "I'm so glad that Kelsi is going to be all right...but any word on little Lucy?"

"As a matter of fact, yes there is," he nodded, a smile on his face. "Lucy is going to be just fine. She'll be out of the NICU and this hospital in no time and will go on to have a wonderful life."

* * *

After their visit with Lucy, Ryan took Kelsi back up to her room and helped her get back in the bed before he headed to the cafeteria to look for Daisy. He found her surrounded by her grandparents and all his friends. She looked anxious, though, and Ryan assumed it was due to wanting to see her mother. He made his way over to the group and watched as Daisy froze, just like she had the day before. She turned her head towards him, spotting him easily and instantly scrambled off her chair, Frosty in hand. "Daddy!" She took off running to him, also like she had done yesterday. He squatted down and just barely managed to open his arms before she crashed into them.

"How do you do that?" he asked her, taking a few moments to hold her close.

"Do what?" she wanted to know.

"You always seem to know when I'm on my way to see you," he replied, smiling at her. "So...how do you do it?"

"Silly Daddy. I have special daughter powers," she informed him, amusing him by patting his cheek. "Didn't you know that?"

"Apparently not," he chuckled, kissing her forehead. "You know what time it is?" he asked her.

"Time to see Mommy?" she asked hopefully.

"Time to see Mommy," he confirmed, smiling when she cheered in excitement. "Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?"

"I want up," she decided.

"Okay," he agreed, standing up and then sweeping her up into his arms. "Come on, baby girl. Let's go see Mommy. I know she can't wait to see you."

"I brought Frosty," she told him as they walked, lifting up her penguin and once again nearly hitting him in the head with it. "He wanted to see Mommy too."

"Well, then it's a good thing you brought him," Ryan nodded as they boarded the elevator. "I'm sure that Mommy will be happy to see him too."

"I thought so," Daisy nodded seriously, falling silent as the elevator ride continued. Her grip on Ryan tightened as the doors opened and they got out.

"Okay, sweetheart, now your mommy is doing a whole lot better than she was," he began as they made their way down the hall to Kelsi's room. "But she's still hurting a little bit."

"Mommy's hurting?" Daisy asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"A little," Ryan replied softly. "So, I want you to be really, really gentle with her, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, her grip tightening even more as Ryan came to a stop outside of Kelsi's room and lightly knocked on the door, waiting a second before opening it. Kelsi had moved her bed into more of a sitting position, wanting to look as normal as possible for her daughter. "Mommy!" Daisy exclaimed, though she made no attempt at trying to wiggle out of Ryan's arms, looking slightly alarmed.

"Look who I found," Ryan smiled at his wife as he walked over to her bed. "Our little flower."

"Hi sweetheart," Kelsi said softly, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of her older daughter. "Oh, I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Mommy," Daisy replied, almost shyly.

"I see you brought Frosty," Kelsi smiled.

"He missed you too," Daisy told her. Kelsi's smile faded as she watched her daughter's eyes go damp. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Mommy."

"I'm sorry if I worried you," Kelsi said quietly.

"But hey, you know what?" Ryan spoke up, mainly addressing Daisy. "Yes, Mommy got hurt and yes, it was really scary and we were worried, but the important thing is that Mommy's getting better now. She's finally awake from her long sleep and she's going to be okay. So...so I know it's a little scary to see Mommy like this, but you don't have to be scared, sweetheart."

"Daddy's right," Kelsi nodded. "I'll be better before you know it. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" Daisy asked.

"Pinky promise," Kelsi agreed, lifting her pinky so Daisy could link it with hers. "Now, hey," she began, relieved when Daisy gave her a small smile. "Unless I'm mistaken, today is Christmas."

"Oh yeah," Ryan smiled at his daughter. "Me and Daisy had a little chat about Christmas earlier."

"You did?" Kelsi asked. "What did you talk about?"

"Daddy said Christmas was for faith and love and hope," Daisy told her. "And mira...mira..." she frowned as she tried to get the word out.

"Miracles," Ryan supplied.

"Miracles," Daisy repeated.

"He's right," Kelsi smiled at her husband. "That is what Christmas is about. You know how I know that?"

"How?" Daisy asked.

"Because today is Christmas and I finally woke up from my long sleep so I can spend the day with the people I love the most in the whole entire world," she answered. "I know we didn't plan on having to spend Christmas in the hospital, but it's okay. You know what would make it perfect, though?"

"What Mommy?" Daisy asked.

"If I could get a Christmas hug from my favorite little flower," Kelsi replied, smiling at her daughter.

"I don't want to hurt you, Mommy," Daisy said, somewhat anxiously.

"You won't," Kelsi promised her. "It'll be okay. Here." She carefully scooted over to the side of the bed. "You can stand right here," she said, patting the space beside her. "Just let Daddy take your shoes off first." Ryan sat Daisy down on the edge of the bed and took her shoes off.

"It'll be okay, honey," he said softly. "Just be really gentle, especially around Mommy's stomach."

"Is that where you're hurt?" Daisy asked Kelsi, who nodded.

"It'll be okay. Come here," Kelsi said softly. Daisy inched her way closer to Kelsi and carefully stood up next to her. Kelsi managed to twist towards her slightly, ignoring the slight ache in her stomach as she carefully wrapped her arms around her daughter as well as she could. "Oh Daisy. My beautiful little girl." She closed her eyes, taking a moment to inhale the sweet scent of her daughter's shampoo. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mommy," Daisy said sweetly.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," Kelsi smiled at her, softly kissing her forehead a couple of times.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy," Daisy echoed.

* * *

"You look like you're about to pass out." Ryan looked up at the sound of his wife's voice and smiled. Earlier Vance had arranged to have Kelsi moved to the room Ryan had been sharing with Daisy and both Ryan and Kelsi had been surprised to find the room decorated with a couple of Christmas decorations. Sharpay had explained that they all thought that if Ryan and Kelsi had to spend Christmas in a hospital, the least they could do was make it as Christmas-y as possible. All of the former Wildcats had stayed for a little while, along with Derby and Vance and Keith and Karen, all of them taking shifts so there wouldn't be too many people in the room at once.

Now it was a little less than a half hour until midnight and everyone had gone back home. Daisy was fast asleep in one of the hospital beds, curled up on her side with her arms wrapped around Frosty. Ryan had just come out of the bathroom after getting ready for bed and had been trying to figure out where he should sleep when Kelsi had spoken. "I'm okay," he told her.

"You are not," she shook her head. "Come here." She'd scooted over to the side of her bed while he'd been in the bathroom and now she patted the space beside her. "If I know you the way I know I do," she continued, a smile playing on her lips, "then you've spent this entire week worrying about and taking care of your girls and not taking care of yourself. Well, no more."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, amused.

"That means that you are going to lie down beside me and let me take care of you," she informed him. "Come on."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he winced as his gaze flickered to her still swollen stomach. "You're recovering."

"So, try not to knee me in the stomach and we'll be fine," she quipped. "Come on." He stopped to run his hand through Daisy's curls and give her a soft kiss on the cheek and then gingerly climbed into the bed beside his wife, lying down on his side facing her.

"This is only for a little while," he told her.

"Shush," she rolled her eyes. "Put your head on my shoulder."

"This is a switch, isn't it?" he smiled as he obeyed.

"That's okay," Kelsi decided, wrapping her arms around him. "You've had such a hard week. You deserve to get taken care of now and that's exactly what I'm doing." She kissed the top of his head. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" she asked quietly.

"I think I have an idea," he informed her, lifting his head so he could look at her. "Almost as much as I love you."

"Ryan," she whispered his name as he kissed her. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, Kelsi," he replied a second later, yawning as he brought his head back to her shoulder.

"You know what this reminds me of?" she asked, absently running her fingers through his hair. "The Christmas I was pregnant with Daisy," she smiled. "Do you remember that?" She waited for a moment. "Ryan?" Silence. "Ryan?"

"Mmm," he mumbled softly, nestling closer to her. She kissed the top of his head again before letting her head rest against his.

"Sweet dreams, baby," she said quietly. "I love you."


	13. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**A/N: Finally! The last of the Christmas oneshots. :) It took some doing to be able to even post this, had to do it a different way than normal, but hey, whatever works, right? This one is super fluffy and sugary and maybe even slightly cheesy. I thought it'd be nice to write one like this, especially considering how heavy the last three were. Had a tough time picking the song, but I think it works - lots of great versions of this one out, but I'm partial to Martina McBride's. This one is basically a couple of glimpses into an Evans family Christmas a few years after Christmas Hope ended. I gotta say that I've grown pretty attached to this little family I've created and there's a good chance that the kids might pop up in other stories of mine. I'm going to write a bonus New Years Eve oneshot that I think I'll add onto this story, so be on the lookout for that. ****In any meantime, I hope you enjoy the last of the Christmas oneshots! Thanks for reading, everyone. :)**

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* * *

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"Mommy!"

"Daddy!"

"Mmm," Kelsi grumbled in her sleep, instinctively burying her face in her husband's shoulder and hoping that she was hearing things.

Ryan groaned in protest, feeling a small hand tugging at his arm. "Daddy, wake up!" a little voice demanded.

"Daddy doesn't wanna wake up," he mumbled.

"Yes, he does," the voice responded, tugging at his arm again. "Wake up!" Ryan yawned as he forced himself to open his eyes and turn his head to face the little girl that said voice belonged to. It was Lucy, now a bright and healthy three year old who looked a lot like her mother had at that age with her brown, curly hair and beautiful smile – though she had her father's eyes and nose.

"Lucy, baby, it's really, really early," he informed her, reaching out to run his hand down her curls.

"It's Christmas!" she exclaimed, her small face glowing with excitement.

"Yes, I know that, honey, but it's really early," he replied, covering his mouth as he yawned again.

"But it's Christmas!" Daisy, now six and a half, piped up from the opposite side of the bed. "Come on, wake up," she ordered as she scrambled up on their bed on Kelsi's side. "Mommy, wake up."

"Mommy doesn't want to wake up," Kelsi sighed, though she opened her eyes. "Especially not at..." she paused, pulling away from the warmth of her husband to roll over to look at the clock on her bedside table and feeling her eyes widen when she saw just how early it was. "4:45 in the morning," she finished.

"What?" Ryan asked, stunned. "Are you kidding?"

"Nope," Kelsi shook her head. "It's really, really early, girls."

"But it's Christmas!" Lucy and Daisy chorused.

"And we went downstairs all ready and guess what?" Daisy asked.

"Santa came!" Lucy answered before either of their parents could. "And he left presents!"

"And he drank his milk and ate his cookies!" Daisy added.

"And the carrots for the reindeer are gone too!" Lucy continued, hopping up and down in her excitement.

"Yeah!" Daisy nodded. "You have to come and see!"

"Yeah! Come on, come on, come on!" Lucy added, making an attempt to climb up onto her parent's bed and failing. "Daddy, help!" Ryan sighed, unable to suppress his smile as he sat up.

"Ready?" he asked, letting out another yawn as Lucy nodded. "Okay, come here, gum drop." He leaned over and carefully picked Lucy up and set her down between himself and Kelsi.

"Daddy?" Daisy asked. "Can we please go downstairs? Please?"

"Please?" Lucy echoed. "Please Daddy?"

"Please Daddy?" Daisy repeated, giving Ryan her best puppy dog face.

"Pretty please?" Lucy added.

"Girls…" Ryan began, glancing at Kelsi for help as he winced. "It's really, really, _really_ early…" he trailed off as Daisy let out a pathetic whimpering sound.

"We love you, Daddy," Lucy said sweetly.

"Oh now that's not fair," Ryan managed, looking over at Kelsi again. "How am I supposed to say no to this?" he asked her, waving his hand at their daughters.

"You're not," Daisy informed him. "Can we go downstairs, please? It's Christmas. Everyone gets up early on Christmas."

"Yeah!" Lucy agreed.

"And besides, it's not just Christmas, it's your anniversary," Daisy pointed out. "There's a lot of reasons to get up early today!"

"Yeah!" Lucy repeated.

"You remembered that today is me and Daddy's anniversary?" Kelsi asked, smiling at Daisy.

"Yes," Daisy nodded. "Daddy took me with him when he went shopping for your present and he said your anniversary was today." She gave her parents a sweet smile. "Happy anniversary, Mommy and Daddy!"

"Thank you, sweetheart," Kelsi said softly, sitting up and leaning forward to kiss Daisy's forehead.

"Happy anni...anni..." Lucy frowned. "Anni what?" The question was directed to her older sister.

"Anniversary," Daisy repeated.

"What's an annibersary?" Lucy asked.

"Not annibersary," Daisy giggled. "Anni_ver_sary. Say it slowly. Anniversary."

"Anniversary," Lucy echoed obediently.

"Good," Daisy nodded.

"Now that you can say it." Kelsi said to Lucy, exchanging a smile with Ryan before continuing. "An anniversary is a celebration that happens on the same day every year, kind of like a birthday. You see, a few years ago on Christmas...a couple of years before we had your big sister, me and Daddy stood up in front of our family and friends and God and promised to love each other forever."

"And ever?" Lucy asked, making Kelsi smile again.

"Forever and ever," Kelsi nodded.

"Yeah," Daisy nodded. "And that makes Christmas more special, right Mommy?"

"To me and Daddy, yes," Kelsi answered.

"So...we should stay up because it's a really special day," Daisy decided.

"Nice try," Ryan chuckled. "But no...it's 5:00 AM now...too early to be up. No matter what day it is. So I propose that we all go back to sleep for a little while, okay? And then we'll get up and have the best Christmas ever. What do you say, girls?" He waited as Lucy and Daisy looked at each other.

"We don't wanna go back to sleep," Daisy told him.

"Are you sure? Because you both look really tired," he tried.

"Nice try, Daddy," Daisy quipped, making Kelsi laugh. "It's Christmas! We wanna go downstairs so we can all open up our presents!"

"Presents!" Lucy echoed.

"But it's not time for presents," Ryan informed them. "It's too early for presents. Santa would want us to wait to open our presents."

"No, he wouldn't," Daisy argued.

"Yeah!" Lucy nodded. "Presents now."

"Oy," Ryan sighed as he flopped back down on the bed and covered his face with one of his hands.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Daisy asked.

"He went like this," Lucy began, turning around so she was facing her sister. "Oy." She then proceeded to flop onto the bed with her hand over her face in a perfect imitation of their father, making Daisy giggle. "Daddy's silly."

"I beg your pardon?" Ryan asked, his lip twitching as he lowered his hand and looked at his younger daughter. "What did you say, young lady?"

"I said you're silly," Lucy repeated, moving her hand to poke him on the nose. "But I still love you."

"Well, that's good," Ryan decided. "Because I love you too."

"Does that mean we can open our presents?" she asked hopefully, making both her parents laugh.

"It's too early," Ryan chuckled. "Come on. Everyone under the covers."

"Why?" Daisy asked.

"Because we are all going to go back to sleep for a couple of hours and _then_ we'll go downstairs," Ryan declared. "And we'll open our presents and then we'll go over to Grandma and Grandpa Evans house and open our presents from them and we'll have the best Christmas ever, I promise."

"Me and Daddy are still really tired," Kelsi put in, lifting up the covers for Daisy. "Come on, sweetheart, just for a couple of hours."

"But it's Christmas," Daisy pouted, though she crawled between Lucy and Kelsi and wriggled her way under the covers.

"It'll still be Christmas in a couple of hours, baby," Kelsi reminded her. "Me and Daddy really appreciate it and Daddy's right, once we get up we'll have the best Christmas ever." She lay back down and rolled over on her side, smiling when Daisy snuggled against her. "It's just a couple of hours," Kelsi yawned, draping her arm over her girls.

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, rolling onto his side and cradling Kelsi's arm with his. "It'll be the best..." He yawned. "Christmas ever."

* * *

"Here Daddy." Ryan looked up at the sound of Daisy's voice. Him and Kelsi had managed to get two more hours of sleep before the girls had grown impatient and woken them up again. The family had then gone downstairs for breakfast and opened all of their presents for each other before getting ready to head over to his parent's house where they'd been for a while. Ryan had been sitting in his parent's family room, watching the fire in the fireplace and now he smiled at his daughter. She was holding one of Zeke's famous chocolate chip cookies in both hands and had one lifted up to him in offering.

"For me?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Aw, thank you, honey." He leaned forward to give her a kiss on her forehead before taking the cookie from her, another smile spreading across his face as she then climbed up onto the couch next to him. "You know, Daisy, this is becoming our very own Christmas tradition. You always give me a chocolate chip cookie on Christmas...ever since you were two years old."

"That's because you're my Daddy and I love you," she said sweetly.

"I love you too, little flower," he said softly, wrapping his free arm around her. "So, so much."

"Daddy?" she asked, snuggling against him once she finished her cookie.

"Yes, baby?" he asked.

"When are you giving Mommy your special anniversary present?" she wanted to know.

"In a little while," he answered.

"Mommy has a special anniversary present for you, too," she informed him.

"Oh, she does, does she?" he asked.

"Yup! But I'm not supposed to tell you what it is," she told him. "But maybe if you give her _her_ special gift, she'll give you _your_ special gift."

"Hmm...you seem pretty excited about this special gift of Mommy's," he said thoughtfully, studying his daughter.

"I am! I can't wait for her to give it to you," she responded. "So give her your gift, okay? Please Daddy?"

"Okay, sweetheart," he chuckled. "I'll give her my gift."

"Give who what gift?" Kelsi asked as she entered the room, smiling at them when they looked up. Lucy was trailing along behind her, hugging a brightly wrapped package.

"You," Ryan answered as Kelsi sat down on his other side.

"You all ready gave me my gift," she reminded him, reaching down to pull Lucy up onto her lap.

"I gave you your Christmas gift," he said lightly. "I'm talking about your anniversary gift." He reached behind him to grab a small rectangular package from the table behind the couch. "And speaking of anniversary gifts, our little flower has just informed me that you have a special one for me."

"I do," Kelsi nodded. "Very special." She nodded to the package Lucy holding. "It's right here."

"Hmm...so we _both_ have special anniversary presents," Ryan grinned. "Here's yours," he added, handing Kelsi her present.

"Lucy, do you want to give Daddy his gift?" Kelsi asked.

"Here Daddy," Lucy smiled at him, giving him his present.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he smiled. "Which one of us should go first?" Ryan questioned.

"Mommy should," Daisy decided.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed.

"Our girls have spoken," Ryan smirked at his wife. "Go ahead."

"Okay," Kelsi nodded before pulling the paper off of her gift. "Hmm." Kelsi glanced up at her husband. "A quick question."

"Shoot," he responded.

"Do I want to know how much this present cost?" she asked, nodding to the box in her hands.

"Probably not," he admitted. "Even though you are more than worth every penny."

"Hmm," she said again, shaking her head even as a smile spread across her face. "Ryan Evans, I swear you..." The words died on her lips as she opened the box to reveal a beautiful heart-shaped locket that was encrusted with diamonds. "Oh my," she breathed. "This is...this is..." She looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "This is beautiful." She pressed one hand to her mouth and swatted his shoulder with the other. "Oh, you spent too much...what is this, gold?"

"Platinum, actually," he confessed, amused when her eyes widened.

"And how much...you know what? Never mind," she decided. "I don't want to know." She returned her attention to the locket. "It's beautiful...I...thank you, baby." She looked back at him, leaning in to brush her lips against his.

"I can't take all the credit," he told her. "Daisy helped me pick it out."

"You did?" Kelsi asked her.

"Uh-huh," Daisy grinned at her. "This was the prettiest locket they had. Do you like it?"

"I love it," Kelsi sniffled. "It's so...oh...it's so beautiful."

"Open it," Ryan suggested.

"I'm scared to touch it," she chuckled weakly, gingerly taking the locket out of the box and carefully opening it. "Oh," she sniffled again. "Oh." There was a picture of Ryan and Kelsi on their wedding day on one side and a picture of Daisy and Lucy on the other, bright smiles on all of their faces.

"Daisy helped me pick the pictures too," Ryan said softly. "I was going to do a picture of Daisy on one side and one of Lucy on the other, but Daisy thought you'd want one of us in there," he told her.

"Oh, she was right," Kelsi whispered. "These are perfect. I love it...I absolutely love it."

"Good," Ryan smiled at her. "Happy anniversary, baby." He leaned in to give her another soft kiss.

"Can Daddy open his now?" Daisy asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

"Yeah, can he?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Kelsi managed. "Go ahead, honey."

"Okay," Ryan nodded.

"Open the card first," Daisy instructed, pointing to the envelope that was taped to the package he held in his hands.

"Okay," he repeated, peeling the envelope off of the package and opening it. The card was simple – white with the words 'Thank you' written on the front in silver script. "A thank you card?" he asked, curiously. He opened the card, finding a couple of short notes written inside – one in Kelsi's handwriting and the other in Daisy's.

"Read them out loud," Daisy suggested.

"_'To my wonderful husband, There has not been a day that's gone by where I don't wake up feeling like the luckiest woman alive. You know, when we got married I didn't think I could ever love you more than I did that day, but I was wrong. The love I felt for you then pales in comparison to the love I feel for you now. Thank you for being the best husband in the world to me and thank you for being such a wonderful father to our beautiful little girls. Happy anniversary, baby, and here's to many, many more. Xoxo – Kelsi.'_" Ryan paused to clear his throat, struggling to speak around the lump that had formed there. He looked up his wife with tears in his eyes. "Me too," he managed, speaking just about a whisper. "I love you so much more today than I did on our wedding day." He leaned closer to her to brush his lips against hers. "So much more," he whispered.

"Read ours, Daddy," Daisy urged him.

"Yeah!" Lucy chimed in.

"Okay." Ryan cleared his throat again, bringing his attention back to the card. "'_Dear Daddy, Me and Lucy are so happy that you're our Daddy because you're the best Daddy in the whole entire world. Thank you for keeping us safe from monsters and singing us songs when we can't sleep. We love you so much, Daddy. Love, Daisy and Lucy.'_" Ryan closed his eyes for a few seconds, resting his head against Daisy's, overwhelmed by her sweet note. "I love you girls so, so much." He turned his head to kiss the top of hers a few times. "You have no idea how much." Ryan turned his attention to Lucy, leaning over to kiss the top of her head a few times as well.

"Open your present, Daddy," Daisy said softly.

"It may be your anniversary present, but I consider this gift to be from all your girls," Kelsi told him. He unwrapped his present, smiling when he saw what it was – a picture of Kelsi, Daisy and Lucy in a stylish frame. In it, Daisy and Kelsi were cuddled up next to each other and Lucy was on Kelsi's lap with practically identical smiles on all their faces. "I got Jason to take it..." she trailed off, wincing slightly. "Of course, it seems kind of lame compared to your gift to me, but I thought-."

"It's perfect," he interrupted gently. "I've been wanting a picture of my girls for my desk at the theater and this one..." He smiled again. "This one is perfect. Absolutely perfect." He turned his attention back to Kelsi. "I love it. Thank you, baby."

"There's..." Kelsi cleared her throat and Ryan was surprised to see that she looked a little nervous. "There's one more thing. It's, um, it's taped to the back."

"Oh." Ryan turned the frame over, finding a small envelope taped to the frame. "What's this?" he asked, peeling it off and opening it. Kelsi watched as he pulled out the piece of paper from the envelope and freeze for a few moments before his lips slowly turned up into a smile. "Kelsi."

"Ryan," she replied calmly, taking a deep breath as he met her gaze.

"Is this..." His smile deepened. "This looks like an ultrasound picture."

"Well, there's a good reason for that," she said slowly. "It is one."

"Kelsi, are you...are you trying to tell me something?" he asked, hints of excitement creeping into his voice as he spoke. "Are you...are we..."

"Pregnant?" she asked softly.

"That is the word I was looking for, yes," he beamed at her. "Are you? Are we?"

"Yes," she smiled, feeling her nerves disappear as she realized how genuinely happy he was. "We're having a baby."

"We're having a baby," he repeated. "Really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "We're having another baby. Our girls are going to have a little brother or sister."

"I'm gonna be a big sister, Daddy!" Lucy declared happily.

"I know you are," Ryan grinned at her. "And I bet you'll be a great one, too."

"Of course she will," Daisy decided, smiling at her sister. "She'll learn from me."

"That she will," Ryan chuckled. "And what a wonderful person to learn from." He kissed the top of her head again. "I can't believe we're having another one." That comment was directed to Kelsi, who smiled at him.

"We always hoped we would," she reminded him. "It'll be wonderful. Right girls?"

"Right, Mommy," Lucy nodded.

"Right," Daisy echoed. "I can't wait!"

"So, tell me girls...do you want a little brother or a little sister?" Ryan asked them.

"I want a brother," Daisy answered. "I all ready have a little sister."

"What about you, sweetheart?" Kelsi asked Lucy.

"A brother," Lucy answered after a moment of consideration. "But a sister would be okay, too."

"Just as long as it gets here okay," Daisy added.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed.

"Hey guys." They all looked up at the sound of Zeke's voice. "Dinner's ready."

"Yay!" Lucy cheered, scrambling off Kelsi's lap and over to her uncle.

"Ooh, Mommy, can we tell everyone else the news now? Since Daddy knows? Please?" Daisy asked.

"Sure, sweetheart," Kelsi smiled at her. "Go ahead."

"Yay!" Daisy hopped off the couch and half walked, half skipped over to Zeke.

"We'll be there in a second," Ryan told Zeke, who nodded.

"Hey Uncle Zeke, guess what?" Daisy was asking as her and Zeke left the room.

"Another baby," Ryan smiled at his wife. "We're having another baby."

"Yeah," Kelsi nodded, snuggling closer to him. "Maybe this time you'll get a son. I know how much you want one."

"A son would be wonderful," Ryan agreed. "But hey, I'd be perfectly fine with another girl. I do love my girls, after all."

"And your girls love you right back." She gave him a gentle squeeze before pulling back just enough to be able to look at him. "Happy anniversary, baby."

"Happy anniversary," he replied softly, giving her a soft, lingering kiss. "And merry Christmas.

"Mmm." She let out a contented sigh as she went back for a second kiss. "Merry Christmas, honey."


	14. Kiss Me At Midnight

**A/N: A little story update real quick. Now that this is ending, I think I'm going to focus on getting Backbone finished. Once that's done, I'll be down to four stories to work on: LP, LN, TYS and a new one for ambinlovewlove, who won the little contest I had in here. :) No title for that one as of yet. Hoping to get the first chapter of that up relatively soon, along with new chapters for LP and LN - and if I get really lucky, I'll be able to update TYS within the month as well. So be on the lookout!  
**

**Well, here you go, a bonus NYE one-shot, loosely inspired by the song _Kiss Me at Midnight_ by 'NSYNC. A pretty heavy steam advisory in effect for this chapter, it heats up quite a bit at the end and pushes this to a T rating. I'm dedicating this one-shot to the ladies that post on the Ryelsi thread over at an HSM board that I'm probably not allowed to refer to on here. The steam in this is basically their fault since they inspired it in a way. ;) ****This one officially wraps up this series. Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading these, even though I wasn't able to get them done by New Year's like I wanted to. Hope you all enjoy this one and remember, reviews are love! **

* * *

Kelsi stood in the doorway of Daisy's room, a faint smile on her face as she watched her daughter. Daisy was sleeping peacefully with her still loved penguin Frosty tucked under her arm. The curtains in her room were partially opened and the moonlight filtering into the room cast a delicate light on Daisy's delicate face and hair, making her look like a little angel – at least as far as Kelsi was concerned. Then again, Kelsi thought her baby _always_ looked like an angel, but that was beside the point. She watched her daughter sleeping for a few moments longer and then crossed the hall to check on Lucy, another smile appearing on her face when she saw that Ryan was all ready standing in the doorway.

"Is she still asleep?" Kelsi asked softly as she joined her husband in the doorway.

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, though his gaze never left their younger daughter's sleeping form. Whereas Daisy tended to be a more peaceful sleeper, Lucy tended to be more restless. It wasn't unusual to come into Lucy's room and find that she'd kicked her sheets off in her sleep. That wasn't the case at the moment, unless Ryan had pulled the covers back over their daughter before Kelsi had joined him. Meanwhile, whereas Daisy's hair had been fanned out neatly behind her on her pillow, Lucy's curls were going every which way. A sure sign that she had been tossing and turning some. But at least she was still asleep, her arms wrapped around Snowball, the stuffed polar bear that Daisy had given her back when she was in the NICU.

"She's come so far, hasn't she?" Kelsi asked quietly, grabbing his hand and weaving her fingers between his. "From her time in the NICU, I mean."

"She has," Ryan nodded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Looking at her today, you'd never know how her life started out. She's our little fighter."

"Even in her sleep," Kelsi chuckled as Lucy kicked off her sheets, as if on cue. She dropped Ryan's hand and walked over to Lucy's bed, grabbing the sheet and pulling it back around her. Kelsi gently brushed the hair away from Lucy's face and then softly kissed her forehead before rejoining Ryan in the doorway. "How'd we get so lucky, Ryan?" she asked. "We have the two most amazing little girls in the world."

"No arguments here," he smiled, reaching his hand out for hers. "They are pretty wonderful." His gaze lowered to her stomach. "Two pretty hard acts to follow, but I think he or she will hold their own."

"I do too," she agreed as they turned away from Lucy's doorway and began to head down the hall. Kelsi turned to go down the stairs, but stopped when she realized that Ryan wasn't coming.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he asked, a playful tone to his voice.

"Downstairs," she answered, giving him an odd look. "It's New Years Eve, remember? I thought we were going to watch the ball drop like we always do."

"We will," he responded. "But we still have half an hour before that happens."

"So we'll watch one of the New Year's Eve shows until then," she said slowly, confused when he shook his head.

"Well, you can go down and watch a show if you want to," he began lightly. "But then you'd miss your surprise."

"My surprise?" Kelsi blinked at him. "I didn't realize I had a surprise."

"You know, Kelsi, being unaware of a surprise is part of what makes a surprise, well, a surprise," he teased her. "Now...do you want your surprise or not?"

"I'll take the surprise," she decided.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he smirked, giving her hand a gentle tug. "Come on." He led the way down the hall to their bedroom. "Ready?"

"For what?" she asked.

"This," he replied, opening the door to their bedroom and smiling when she gasped. A red and white blanket was spread out on the floor between their bed and the wall and there was a medium sized picnic basket lying on it. An ice bucket was sitting just beside the blanket with an opened bottle chilling inside of it. The lights had been lowered and there was a fire in their remote-controlled gas fireplace. The television was off for the moment and there was soft music playing.

"What's all this?" she asked, smiling at him.

"This is an indoor New Year's Eve picnic," he answered with a smile. "Come on." He gestured toward the blanket and followed her as she made her way to it. They sat down and she waited patiently while he opened up the basket and pulled out two champagne glasses, handing one to her. "Okay, now we have a couple of champagne glasses, but no champagne," he began, reaching over to the ice bucket and grabbing the bottle. "Since that would be a little irresponsible, don't you think? And besides," he grinned at her. "You don't like champagne anyway. So, yes, no champagne, but what we _do_ have is some sparkling cider." He carefully poured some cider into first her glass and then his before setting the bottle back in the bucket.

"And of course no picnic would be complete without food, right?" he asked. "We have some good old fashioned chocolate chips cookies and a few brownies...all made by Zeke, I might add." He reached into the basket and pulled out a plate with cookies and brownies arranged on it. "And then you can never go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries," he added, pulling out another plate.

"Ooh, I love those," she admitted, waiting, rather impatiently, while he set his glass down and took off the saran wrap that covered both plates.

"I am well aware of that," he chuckled, amused when she took one as soon as he got the wrap off. "Someone's feeling impatient," he teased as she bit into it.

"Hey, it's not my fault. The baby wanted it," she said innocently.

"Oh really?" he asked, playfully lifting an eyebrow. "That's your excuse? The baby wanted it?"

"Hey, this is my baby, right? Of course he or she likes chocolate covered strawberries...it's all in the DNA," she quipped.

"You are so cute," he shook his head, delighted with her.

"And you are so sweet," she smiled at him. "Setting all this up...it's so romantic."

"I'm happy you think so," he grinned. "I was going for romantic." He lifted his glass up. "So with that said, here's to the end of another wonderful year with my beautiful wife and to the beginning of what I'm sure will be an even _more_ wonderful year."

"I'll toast to that," she beamed at him, gently clinking his glass with hers. "Mmm," she sighed as she took a sip of her cider. "I love you, you know that?"

"I do. I love you too," he said softly, leaning in to give her a gentle kiss. "So much." He gave her a pointed look. "Even though you do seem to have quite an addiction to those chocolate covered strawberries," he added with a smirk, making her giggle.

"It's hardly an addiction," she argued. "We just don't have them all that often and when we do, well, I get a little overexcited about them."

"Overexcited? That's one way of putting it," he snickered. "You practically pounced on that plate once the covering was off."

"Is it my fault they're so good?" she asked, reaching over for another one and holding it up to him. "Here, you have to try one."

"I'm familiar with chocolate covered strawberries, you know," he reminded her.

"Have it anyway," she suggested, waving it in front of his face. "You know you're dying to sink your teeth into the chocolate and strawberry deliciousness."

"Quit moving it around and maybe I will," he teased her as he leaned in to take a bite.

"Well?" she asked.

"It is pretty good," he admitted. "I never said they weren't. I just don't share your enthusiasm for them."

"Does that mean they'll be more for me?" she asked hopefully, making him laugh as he grabbed another strawberry from the plate.

"Here," he said, holding it up for her.

"Yum," she smiled at him after she'd taken a bite. "The second one is even better than the first, you know that? I mean, you eat the first one so fast and it's good, but the second one you can eat slower cause you all ready had that first one, you know? So much better."

"You're rambling," he cut in, amused. "About strawberries."

"But it's true," she protested, grabbing another one. "Here. See for yourself." He made a show of rolling his eyes, though he leaned in obediently to take a bite...only to have her pull it away. "Eat it slowly."

"Okay, okay," he agreed, grabbing her wrist gently with his free hand to hold it in place, obliging her by eating the strawberry slowly.

"See?" she asked. "See how much better it was the second time?"

"You're a little odd, you know that?" he chuckled. "Odd and totally adorable. Come here," he murmured, giving her a lingering kiss.

"Mmm, you taste like strawberries and chocolate," she said softly, once the kiss ended.

"I'm trying to decide if I should be offended or not," he said a moment later. "I kiss you and all you can think about is the fact that I taste like your favorite treat."

"Well, you know what I said about chocolate covered strawberries? How the second one is better because you've satisfied your initial craving with the first? How you can take the time to savor that second one because said craving is taken care of?" she asked, carefully setting her glass down. "The same can be said for kisses. I'll show you." She hooked her hand around his neck and gave him a long, slow kiss. "See?" she murmured. "The second one is so much better."

"Hmm," he began, his eyes twinkling at her. "I think I see your point."

"Hey," she said suddenly. "How are we going to know when it's getting close to midnight? I thought you said we were going to watch the countdown. We can't see any of our clocks from here."

"We are," he assured her, surprising her by reaching into the basket again and pulling out a small battery powered alarm clock. "This is set to go off a couple of minutes before midnight."

"You thought of everything," she smiled.

"I did," he nodded. "So, I don't want you to worry about what time it is or whatever. Instead, I want you to relax and enjoy. Here." He reached for a brownie, offering it to her. "I know it's not your precious strawberries, but Zeke made these so I bet they're pretty awesome."

"He does make really good brownies," she decided, taking the brownie from him and taking a bite out of it. "Oh my goodness. Remind me to call Zeke tomorrow and thank him for making these."

"Good?" he asked, smiling at the look of bliss on her face.

"Oh, baby, good doesn't even come close," she argued. "Try heavenly. I swear, I about heard angels singing."

"You about heard angels?" he laughed. "And here I thought you got overexcited about the strawberries."

"Try it," she ordered. "Take a bite and tell me you're not in heaven. Come on, open up." She waited for him to open his mouth and then pulled off a chunk of the brownie to give to him. "Huh? Was I right?"

"I don't know about angels singing," he began. "But that was really, really good."

"This is what I'm saying," she giggled.

* * *

Kelsi grabbed for the remote to turn the television on while Ryan turned the alarm clock off. They'd spent the past several minutes talking quietly and munching on all the desserts they had, sneaking in kisses every so often and enjoying their indoor picnic. Kelsi had almost forgotten it was New Year's Eve until the alarm had gone off and now she snuggled in closer to her husband.

"A new year," she said absently, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "A new beginning." She brought a hand to her stomach, a faint smile appearing on her face as she rubbed it. "A new baby."

"I can't wait," Ryan murmured, turning his head to kiss her temple. "It'll be wonderful."

"You know what?" she asked, looking at him.

"What?" he wanted to know.

"Something tells me that we're having a boy this time," she answered. "I don't know why I think so...I can't explain it exactly, it just...I don't know. This time feels different than the others."

"Yeah?" he asked, smiling at her. "Your mother's intuition kicking in?"

"Maybe," she chuckled. "I know it's too early to tell, but I just have a feeling." Her smile softened as she studied him. "Can you imagine having a little boy in the house? A perfect little version of you. Same blond hair, same features, same smile." She lifted a hand to his cheek. "Same heart. Oh, I can almost see him all ready. I can't wait to meet him...our little boy. Oh, Ryan, I know we're having a boy. I just know it."

"I hope you're right," he said quietly, glancing over at the clock and seeing that they had a little less than two minutes until midnight. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I told you I'd be perfectly fine with another little girl and I would be. I love being the daddy of two beautiful little girls and another one would be wonderful. But a son...a son would be pretty wonderful too."

"Someone to carry on the Evans name," Kelsi smiled.

"Yeah. My dad would love that," he nodded. "Not that he doesn't adore his granddaughters," he added quickly.

"Oh, I know," Kelsi assured him. "Our girls have him completely wrapped around their little fingers." She gave him a playful nudge. "Kind of like they have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers."

"Don't I know it," Ryan laughed. "I have no willpower when it comes to my girls." He gave her a teasing look. "_Any_ of my girls. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you three."

"I know that too," she said softly. "We have you outnumbered."

"That you do," he agreed. "A son _would_ help even things out some."

"Yeah, but you'd still have no willpower when it came to your girls," she teased him.

"That's true," he admitted.

"Ooh, we're getting close," Kelsi said after a moment, nodding to the television. "It's almost a new year."

"Yeah. So here's to a wonderful year and to our girls, that they stay happy and healthy," Ryan began. "And here's to our little baby, that he or she gets here safely and without any problems."

"Amen to that," Kelsi nodded. "I love you, Ryan."

"I love you too, baby," he replied. "And ten," he added softly, beginning the countdown to the New Year with the television. "Nine." He gently kissed her temple. "Eight." Another kiss, this one just under her cheek bone. "Seven." Another one, placed lower down on her cheek. "Six." Another kiss, this time near the corner of her mouth. "Five."

The rest of the countdown was quickly forgotten as he brought his lips to hers in a kiss that made her slightly lightheaded. Kelsi was only dimly aware of the cheers coming from their television, too lost in the kiss to focus on anything else. "Happy New Year, Kelsi," he murmured as he ended the kiss, taking a few much needed breaths of air.

"Happy New Year," she whispered, though her lips slowly turned into a smirk. "You know, Ryan, some people wait for the countdown to finish before they kiss."

"Ah, yes, I know that," he responded. "But I prefer to do it this way."

"And why's that?" she asked.

"Because this way I got to spend the rest of last year and the beginning of this year doing one of my favorite things," he answered. "Kissing my lovely wife. See, Kelsi, it's not just about starting the new year out right, you gotta end the old one right too. And this way, as far as I'm concerned, we did."

"I like that," she decided, smiling at him.

"You know what else I'd like?" he asked her, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV.

"What?" She watched as he got to his feet and offered a hand to her.

"A dance," he answered. "In celebration of the new year."

"That sounds nice," she said, letting him pull her to her feet and lead her a little ways away from the blanket. He tugged her a little closer and they began to dance, swaying gently to the soft music that was still playing. Kelsi rested her head on his shoulder and absently played with his hair as they danced. She sighed in sheer contentment, loving how safe she felt with his arms wrapped around her.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Very," she replied, easing back to look at him. "And there you go again."

"What?"

"Making me fall in love with you again," she answered, making him smile.

"I do my best," he joked, though he quickly sobered. "I love you, baby. I love you so much." He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her slowly and tenderly, still gently swaying her in time to the music. Their eyes met as the kiss broke and just like that the air between them changed, becoming more electrical than sweet and for a moment Kelsi felt her breath catch in her throat. She should be used to this happening by this point in their relationship, but she wasn't. These moments always seemed to take her by surprise, even when she suspected they were coming.

"Ryan." His name came out on a whisper and they leaned back in towards each other at the same time. This kiss was more heated than the last and Kelsi's grip on him slowly tightened as she attempted to pull herself as close to him as possible. The dance continued and she let out a breathless chuckle as the kiss broke and he slowly dipped her, taking care to bring his hand to the back of her neck to help support it. The chuckle soon died in her throat as he leaned in and brushed his lips against the base of her neck and then gently kissed his way back to her lips. She held onto his arms tightly as he brought them back to a fully standing position, his lips never breaking contact with hers while they moved. Kelsi bit her lip as the kiss broke, her heart pounding harder in her chest as she gazed into his eyes, noting how much darker they seemed now.

She brought her hands to the bottom of his shirt and slowly pulled it up as high as she could manage, letting him pull it off the rest of the way. She then pressed her hand to his heart and her lips turned up into a small smile as she felt how fast it was beating. "I should be used to this," she said quietly. "The way you make me feel, I mean." She moved her hand and placed a loving kiss over his heart. "I'm not." She then placed a handful of kisses on his upper chest and shoulders and neck. "I love you, Ryan Evans," she whispered, her lips a hair away from his. "And I want to spend this first part of this new year showing you just how much." She gave him a brief, soft kiss. "Make love to me. Please, baby." She kissed him again, smiling against his lips when he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to their bed, setting her down gently and moving to straddle her legs.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he asked softly. "I swear, you get prettier every single day." He brought his hands to the bottom of her shirt and began slowly unbuttoning the buttons. Kelsi felt her breath hitch as he leaned down to softly kiss her stomach, his lips following his hands as he worked his way up her body. She threaded her fingers through his hair, feeling the rest of the world begin to fade into the distance and making it seem like they were the only two people that existed.

Ryan spread her shirt open once he reached the end off the buttons and she sat up just enough to allow him to slip it off completely before laying back down. Picking up where he left off, he gently kissed the hollow of her throat before making his way up her neck, teasing her skin with his tongue and making her moan softly. "Ryan." His name came out on a gasp that time and she moved her hands to his shoulders, digging her fingers into his skin and letting herself get swept up in the sensation. "Ryan...don't stop," she managed, feeling him smirk against her skin. "Please don't stop."

"Kelsi, baby, I love you," he murmured, framing her face with his hands and caressing her cheeks tenderly. "Happy New Year." Ryan brought his mouth to hers in a mind-blowing kiss and she let her hands roam over the muscles in his back, the rest of the world long since forgotten as they proceeded to welcome in the new year in the best way either of them could think of – by making love with the person they'd fallen in love with back in high school, their one true love. The perfect way to start off what would indeed be a happy new year.


End file.
